The board of directors for Audrey's Home of Hope is taking a pause. The directors plan to come back with a clear mission statement and a sustainable plan, but all of that may take a little bit longer, chairman Ryan Hale said recently.
Audrey's began with a luncheon at St. Bernard's Catholic Church in December 2014. Founders Jennifer Reis and Ed Lemerise were joined by the executive directors of the Northwest Arkansas Women's Shelter and Havenwood, a transitional living program that works with many single parents. The director of Loving Choices attended too. Each spoke about the difficulties faced by expectant mothers with little or no support.
Like most retail shops, Audrey’s has fall items on sale to make room for Christmas items. But Audrey’s isn’t really like most retail shops. Audrey’s Resale Boutique supports a nonprofit called Audrey’s Home of Hope, and the nonprofit supports pregnant women in crisis.
For the Christmas season, manager Kristy Danna has several surprises for her customers. She has booked entertainment. A harpist and a keyboardist will be playing in the store at different times throughout the season.
She also has some brand-new items that she buys at market. Jewelry and scarves make perfect Christmas gifts, she said.
Other new items include original art and some craft items like wood carvings and greeting cards. One artist cuts shapes into books that would have been thrown away.
Among the gently-used items are complete sets of Christmas dishes which are displayed, along with table linens and centerpieces on the gently-used dining tables in the store.
Bella Vista Community Television is producing a fashion show narrated by Danna with models that shop regularly at Audrey’s. Since she is concentrating on holiday dress up, Danna is calling the show, “Putting on the Ritz.” All the clothing is from the boutique. The show will run on the community TV station several times, but it can also be accessed from YouTube.
Danna is collecting toys at the boutique, which she plans to donate to the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter for Christmas.
Audrey's was planned to assist pregnant women in transition. The original board opened a resale shop to help support the program. It's located near the Highland's Gate. Then it started searching for housing for the women it wants to help.
By February 2016, Audrey's had helped six women and their newborn babies, with four expectant mothers also in the program. There were also older children who came with the expectant mothers.
A few of the women were living in a rented shelter, along with one house parent. Others had been moved into their own housing which the organization helped furnish using donations, including some that came through the resale store. Grant funds helped with housing, and many of the women were eligible for food stamps and day care vouchers.
The plan was to support the women during the pregnancy and for a few months after, giving each women time to find employment and housing.
The board also bought a piece of land on Highway 279 and had plans drawn up for a large shelter. In 2016, the organization was about to begin fundraising for the new building.
"Until you're in the middle of it, you don't realize what it entails," Reis said recently. Even arranging transportation to get the expectant mothers to doctors appoints was complicated, and the expenses were much higher than expected.
By early 2017, the board expanded. Two new members who are also businessmen came on board.
"When they came to us it, was like a godsend to Ed and me," Reis said. They were getting ready to move to Hot Springs where they wanted to live on the lake and be closer to her mother who needed help.
Ryan Hale said he "fell in love with the mission." He knew it was a cause he could support. He was elected chairman of the board earlier this year. But, he said, he didn't believe the program could be financially sustainable. He cited both business and nonprofit experience for his decision and said the vice chair, Doug Baughman, agreed.
"Really, we decided to transition out of the house and get healthy financially and organizationally," he said. "It's not a permanent pause."
The timing was perfect, Reis remembered. Just as they considered giving up the rental house, the last two residents got jobs and apartments of their own. There was an unexpected lull when no new women appeared asking for help, so they took the plunge and closed that portion of the program.
The resale shop, Audrey's Resale Boutique is still open.
"We communicated very clearly with our residents and talked to them and made a transition plan for them. It went very well," Hale said.
The board is also rethinking the land on Highway 279.
"We are processing what it looks like long-term," he said. The location presents some challenges, especially for transportation. "Maybe a better area is where it would be easier to connect to health services."
"We are entertaining an offer on the property. We may sell the property and recapitalize the money," he said. But he wants to keep the boutique in Bella Vista.
There's no timeline for reopening the program to clients. The board meets regularly, he said, and he believes there are positive steps being taken. He wants to find some funding partners before new clients come in.
Reis is still on the board and comes back to Bella Vista to attend meetings, but she's happy to take a back seat.
"The board understands that people will be concerned about the pause," Hale said, "but there's no cause for concern. We're not looking at going away or shuttering the doors forever. We're confident that there are some great things ahead."
General News on 12/13/2017