During the snow in January and very cold temperatures, the First United Methodist Church volunteered to be a warming station. After that extreme cold had passed, Mayor Jerry Jackson asked Arthur Royston, one of the Methodist Church organizers, for a report on the homeless in the area at the City Council meeting.
Mayor Jerry Jackson said, “This time of year when we see cold weather coming, we react hoping that some people have made plans. In the past, the First Assembly, House of Hope, and the First Methodist Church have been open overnight. This year, the Methodist Church Board of Directors voted to open a warming center 24/7. Arthur Royston, I want to thank you and everyone at the church for saving lives. I know you want to save souls, but saving lives isn’t bad either.”
Royston said, “When Pastor Angie Gage came a year and a half ago, one of the things she expressed an interest in was the homeless. She had worked with them before at other locations. The Mayor asked me to share the facts with you – what we have seen in the two separate instances of the shelters we’ve opened up.”
“The church began planning in November 2023 and established some ground rules for housing the homeless and being a shelter during the extreme cold. In January 2024, we had about three weeks of extremely cold weather in the minus teens and low wind chills,” Royston said.
“We were open 24/7, about 13 days straight. Our church facility had about 14 guests, and not all of them stayed the entire time. One of the gentlemen worked at McDonalds. Walking to work one morning, he got lost because of the snow and wind. He called the church because he was freezing to death in the doorway of the Middle School. Talking about saving lives, it took us the rest of the day to get his body warmed back up until he was coherent. But that man has had an apartment since last spring. He has a good job closer to his apartment because he still walks. But he has been our success story from last year.”
“We felt like we found a need; we aren’t the only place that has opened up to give a meal or a night inside.”
“This year, we opened on Jan 5 until Jan 11. We had a total of 12 guests who came sporadically. We only had one repeat from 2024. She didn’t have heat or running water in her home last year, and she returned for three or four days this year.”
“Another gentleman stayed with us because he didn’t have running water in his home.”
"Due to a lack of volunteers on Saturday, we agreed with Family Budget Inn. They provided a place to house the homeless for $25 a night. We put all nine of our guests there for two nights. Since that time, some of those people have stayed to help them with the housekeeping jobs because they are so busy. The community outpouring of support for Family Budget Inn has been unbelievable. A number of our church members and people from the community provided meals – and they were mighty fine!”
“We have many issues we need to tweak and improve for next time. We’ve attempted to make arrangements with other groups. Some have helped, and some haven’t.”
One non-profit organization in town really disappointed community leaders when it assured the Methodist Church it would help house the homeless in January. Then, in a social media post, it let the public know it would not be open as a warming station and would also be closed for the MLK Federal Holiday.
Royston said this left them scrambling at the last minute, and they were grateful for the help Family Budget Inn could provide.
Family Budget Inn will be available to house those needing shelter for $25 a night. Kimberly asked that you call first to make sure there is room. The address is 401 S. Main (65 Business) and the phone number is (870)-743-1000.
The Methodist Church does not plan to open at this time. Royston said someone called him and had already paid in advance for four rooms. “But our plans are subject to change as needed,” he said.
William Tollett, director of House of Hope, was not available to comment.
Photo: Some First United Methodist Church members attended the Jan. 23 City Council meeting to show their support of Arthur Royston, who was invited to share a report on the homeless and warming station the church hosted. Pastor Angie Gage (from left), Arthur Royston, Mayor Jerry Jackson, Chris Royston, Dana Snawder, and Susan Harden are pictured.