Non-profit clears land to build homeless shelter for young people
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — More resources are coming for young people experiencing homelessness in Little Rock after a local non-profit cleared the way to build a new shelter on Wednesday.
Immerse Arkansas will be demolishing an old building on Mary Street to build The Station, a shelter that will hold up to 16 people at a time.
The shelter will specifically be for youths between the ages of 18 to 24 years old— the first shelter of its kind in the state
"We want to make it easy for them to experience healing, and growth and transformation. But critical to healing is feeling safe," said Eric Gilmore, Executive Director of Immerse Arkansas.
Gilmore said the construction of this shelter will help fill a big need in central Arkansas.
"Our adult shelters in town do great work. But oftentimes, they're not designed with young people in mind. They're geared more towards adult homelessness. And so we see young people becoming homeless and getting caught up in this swirl of chronic homelessness way too early in life," he explained.
He also said that The Station will be more than just a place to stay.
"We'll have counseling and coaches to help deal with the challenges that are going on, possibly reconnect them with family, if that's the right thing, and help them put together a plan to find employment to get into housing," he said.
A special note to our youth - You are the real story here.
Keep up the great work, keep pressing on, and keep overcoming. All of Arkansas wants you to succeed, and so many people are on your side and cheering for you!