Audrey's enters third year with building plans

Almost two years since the doors opened, Audrey's Home of Hope is going strong and helping women and children.

They've learned a few things in the last two years, founder and board member Jennifer Reis said. For example, they didn't realize how difficult it would be for a young single mother to find affordable housing.

Audrey's was founded with the idea of working with pregnant women in crisis. They've worked with 24 women in 2016. Several of those women also had older children. All of them came into the program without anything but the clothes on their back.

Now, the organization houses two women in a home with a staff member and helps support other women in apartments, but the plan is to open a much larger shelter. Last year they purchased 10 acres on Arkansas Highway 279 near Hatcher Hollow Road. The original plan called for a large building with wings on each side for housing, but the final cost to build would have been more than $1 million, Reis said. When federal funding did not come through, the board rethought the plan and whittled it down to a cost of about $400,000. The redesigned facility will still have eight bedrooms, with one reserved for the house mother and one for the weekend house mother. The building will be two stories, which lowers the cost.

Once the main building is completed, Reis said plans are to add small cottages or apartments on the same property for the women who want to raise their babies.

Several young mothers have let others adopt their babies and they have an easier time being independent, Reis explained.

The Audrey's staff has found that even with some training during the pregnancy, most of the Audrey's moms can't get a job that pays more then $10 an hour. It's very difficult to find housing on that budget.

There will also be a daycare facility on the campus because that's another need the moms have reported. Some of the mothers get help from DHS to pay for daycare, but there aren't enough facilities for newborns.

Reis said she's working with Gravette on her plans because the property was recently annexed along with Hiwasse. Gravette has been easy to work with, she said.

If all goes as planned, ground will be broken this spring.

The organization received grants during the first two years, but the board has decided not to apply for any more federal grants. They come with too many regulations, she explained, and the board agreed to concentrate on their own agenda.

Audrey's Resale Boutique, at 1731 Forest Hills Blvd. (Arkansas Highway 279), provides much of their funding. Manager Kristy Danna has added some local crafts to the gently used clothes and household goods.

Not only does the boutique sell clothing and home items, it's also a source for some goods that Audrey's clients need. When young families move out of the shelter into their own home, they need to equip it with everything from cribs to dishes and appliances. Some of the donations to the boutique go directly to the clients, she said.

There's been a series of fundraisers as well. One board member, Dr. Moon Park, who teaches vocal music at the University of Arkansas, held a second in-home concert last weekend for Audrey's. Next spring she will host five professional Korean musicians who will give benefit concerts all over Northwest Arkansas for Audrey's, she said.

Audrey's was named after a baby whose photograph Reis noticed in the window of a photography studio. The photo was so compelling that she went into the studio and asked about the real-life baby. Ironically, the mother of the real Audrey was raising her alone after an unplanned pregnancy. She could have used the program that Reis now operates.