Boys & Girls Club of Faulkner County Arkansas, Inc.
The mission of the Boys & Girls Club is to enable all young people, especially those who need it most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. The Boys & Girls Club does this by providing a safe place for youth ages 5-18 after school and during the summer. They provide programming in 5 core areas: Education & Career, Character & Leadership, Health & Life Skills, The Arts, and Sports/Fitness/Recreation. The average daily attendance is nearing 300 members. The majority of the members qualify for the federal free/ reduced lunch program, identifying as low to moderate income households and also meeting additional “at- risk” qualifiers.
Website:http://www.bgca.org/Pages/index.aspx
Lucie’s Place, Inc.
Lucie’s Place envisions a world in which Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ) young adults feel welcomed, loved, and respected at home. In response to the disproportionate and overwhelming population of homeless LGBTQ young adults in Central Arkansas, the mission of Lucie’s Place is to establish a long-term shelter for homeless LGBTQ young adults, ages eighteen to twenty-five. Their goal is to provide a safe home in which these young adults can live their lives to the fullest while developing skills necessary for independent living. They hope to have this program, our Transitional Living Program (TLP) open in Q4 of 2013. In addition, they are currently working to secure funding for two other programs they plan to open in Q1 of 2013. These two programs will offer free counseling services and emergency short-term housing for LBGTQ young adults who are currently homeless, at risk of becoming homeless or who have a history of homelessness.
Website: http://www.luciesplace.org/
Pediatrics Plus Community Connections
Community Connections is a non-profit organization that provides free, quality extracurricular activities for children with special needs. They also provide support for their families. They do this by offering flag football, soccer, dance, theatre, golf, art, cheerleading, music, and martial arts. Community Connections also has an autism resource library that offers books and resources to families that have children on the autism spectrum. They currently offer programs in Conway, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Hot Springs, and Russellville.
Website: http://www.communityconnectionsar.org/aboutus/
Conway Interfaith Clinic, Inc.
Their mission is to provide access to medical and dental services for those individuals and families in Faulkner County who would not otherwise have access. Their primary goal is to expand the programs to provide medical and dental care for an increased number of Faulkner and surrounding county’s low-income families. Conway Interfaith Clinic’s two major programs are a medical clinic and a dental clinic. Services provided through the medical clinic include primary medical care, reduced fee lab work, reduced fee hospital care, referrals to specialists and assistance with prescription drugs. Our dental clinic provides exams, cleaning, x-rays, extractions and general dentistry. Since opening in 2003, they have provided dental services to 7,667 patients with 29,685 visits; medical care for 3,746 patients with 18,465 visits and provided over $9.9 million in maintenance medications to the uninsured medical patients at the clinic.
Website: http://conwayinterfaithclinic.org/
The Stewpot
The Stewpot started 39 years ago, in the First Presbyterian Church, by a group who recognized the need for a soup kitchen in downtown Little Rock. The first meal was $.99 and the cost is $2.13 per meal today, even after cutbacks in the serving of meat and other expensive items. The mission serves the homeless, the jobless, working poor, the elderly, and the mentally and physically disabled. They open the door to anyone who needs a meal. Clothes are distributed on Thursdays and Baptist Health donates their expertise and supplies each Friday. Over 150 different volunteers participate each month at the Stewpot: cooking meals, sorting clothes, serving meals or picking up low cost food from The Rice Depot and Food Bank.
The Safe Place, Inc.
The Safe Place, Inc., a non-profit organization, serving Conway and Faulkner counties, was established in 1995 to provide immediate safe shelter plus services for victims of domestic violence and their children, thereby saving lives. They are dedicated to educating both the victims and society about domestic violence and abuse, empowering the victims and their children to desire and achieve living violence free, thus breaking the cycle of domestic violence. Governed by a Board, the Executive Director, responsible for administrative and direct services, supervises volunteers and a staff of five in the following positions: legal advocate, child/teen advocate, weeknight advocates and weekend advocate. Services include but not limited to: crisis hotline, safety planning, emergency shelter, food, clothing, advocacy, transportation, group and lay counseling, referrals, parenting and life skills classes, education about domestic violence, bullying and dating violence to victims and society, etc.
HAVEN (Help for Abuse Victims in Emergency Need)
HAVEN, a non-profit organization of Counseling Associates, Inc., began providing a safe home to children in 1986 and is a licensed emergency shelter and provides long-term residential services as well. Children who are placed at HAVEN will be female between the ages of 6-18 and are in the foster care system. Often times, the residents have been victims of sexual and/or physical abuse. All residents receive a mental health evaluation, a psychiatric assessment, and individual and group therapy. HAVEN typically provides a home for 60 young girls per year. The shelter operates on a 24 hours 7 days a week basis. Their goal is to enrich the life of each child who calls HAVEN home, by providing educational assistance, mental health services, and recreational activities, in a stable, supportive environment.
Faulkner County Senior Citizens Program
The Faulkner County Council on Aging, Inc. strives to identify and meet the nutrition, social, and transportation needs of Senior Adults (Faulkner County residents age 60 or older). Their goal is to help them remain active, independent, and to enhance their quality of life. They accomplish this by providing home delivered meals to homebound individuals; meals and activities at any of their six senior citizens centers; and transportation to life-necessary destinations such as medical and dental appointments, grocery stores, etc. Arkansas has the third highest number of older people at risk for hunger in the nation. Most have become undernourished because of chronic poor health, an inability to shop or cook, limited income, or isolation and depression. All of their programs are designed to address these issues and to help them remain healthy and living in their own homes for as long as possible.
Website: http://users.conwaycorp.net/fcseniors/index.htm
Community Service, Inc.
With locations in seven cities in west central Arkansas, Community Service is near to more than 340,000 Arkansans across 11 counties. Their service professionals are committed to helping youth in need through prevention and education, therapeutic foster care, day treatment, substance abuse services, mental health services and juvenile justice. They are a non-profit youth and family service organization serving at-risk youth. Community Service’s mission is to be a leader in providing quality services to youth and their families that will empower them to attain success in their homes, school, careers, and communities. Those that seek treatment at Community Service are children aging from birth to 19 years of age and their families. In many cases, they have given up all hope of a bright future. They live in chaos, depression, and despair. Their clients come from all walks of life and family economic backgrounds.
Website: http://www.communityserviceinc.com/
Children’s Advocacy Alliance
The Children’s Advocacy Alliance is an independent non-profit organization. Their mission is to provide hope, healing, and a voice for justice for abused and neglected children in our community. Originally founded in 2000 as CASA of the 20th Judicial District, the Children’s Advocacy Alliance oversees both the Central Arkansas Children’s Advocacy and the CASA 20th Judicial District program. They coordinate investigative and treatment efforts involving law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, medical, and mental health services. These services are coordinated through a community-based facility to protect children from further trauma and to provide them with a foundation for healing from their abuse. They also recruit and train local advocates to stand up for abused and neglected children, represent their best interests in court, and help them find safe, permanent homes.
Website: http://www.cacarkansas.org/
Camp Aldersgate, Inc.
Camp Aldersgate is Arkansas’s only non-profit uniquely dedicated to serving children and youth with disabilities and senior adults in a camp environment. They provide children with disabilities access to traditional camp activities for six weeks during the summer. They offer another program that promotes disability awareness to children with or without disabilities. Camp Aldersgate provides senior citizens educational and recreational activities, social interaction, and a nutritious lunch once a week from August through May.
Website: http://www.campaldersgate.net/