Children's shelter rebrands and expands services
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Inside EverHope. Photo: Alex Golden/Axios
The organization formerly called the Northwest Arkansas Children's Shelter is ramping up services to support children in foster care or who have experienced trauma.
Why it matters: The organization, now called EverHope, intends to help close gaps in services for children with its expanded offerings, chief executive officer Rebekah Mitchell told Axios.
Driving the news: The rebranding was made to better reflect the fact that the organization does more than provide a safe place to stay and that it serves children from all over the state, not just the northwest corner.
State of play: EverHope is launching a new program, Path to Adulthood, geared toward helping young adults who have been in foster care develop life skills.
How it works: Teens can choose to stay in the state's foster care system past age 18 to continue to receive services like rental assistance or mental health services until they're 21 or 24 in some cases. However, many lack guidance and sign themselves out of the program, making them more susceptible to homelessness, legal problems and job instability, Mitchell said.
- EverHope's program is the only one in the region that supports people over 18 still in foster care. Path to Adulthood will help teens navigate housing, internships and jobs, plus everyday skills like grocery shopping, Mitchell said.
What they're saying: "Right now, when a child enters the shelter and they're 17 and they turn 18 while they're here, they can just literally walk out our doors," Mitchell said. "And so when a teenager comes into our shelter, we want to make sure that we're pouring all of those skills into them and all that support into them so that when they turn 18 we would continue to walk alongside them."
- "We can either invest in these kids now and set them up for success or we're going to be paying for it later," she said.
Zoom out: EverHope recently launched a foster licensing program to train and vet foster parents. The organization offers case management for foster parents so they can call a case manager directly with questions.
- In the new EverHope School Project pilot program at Springdale Public Schools, staff focus on children who aren't in foster care but have experienced trauma, working inside the schools and children's homes to assist with parenting, education and overall stabilization.
- "The hope is that children can be supported before that crisis really turns into a catastrophe," Mitchell said.
- The school project came after EverHope saw success operating a charter school for children who had experienced trauma. The goal is to reach more children with this program, which brings the staff to the children instead of requiring them to travel to the charter school.
Context: EverHope is continuing to operate its 32-bed emergency shelter in Bentonville, which is for children in the state's foster care system who have not been placed in traditional foster care homes. Some live there for several months and even attend school on site. Some are trafficking victims who cannot be placed in traditional foster homes or attend traditional school for safety reasons.
What's next: EverHope's goal is to expand its school project statewide, Mitchell said.