FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- Construction is moving along on a nearly $3 million project, that will help those in the greater Fort Smith area.
The Riverview Hope Campus in downtown Fort Smith has made significant strides since October 2016 when construction began. Organizers said the work is being completed as scheduled.
The campus on South E Street will provide food, temporary housing, and assistance for low income and homeless citizens in the area.
“It doesn’t have to be someone who has lost everything, but it could be someone living paycheck to paycheck who can use some job training or financial leadership classes,” said Jeremy May, vice president of Riverview Hope Campus.
Construction workers are putting up exterior walls, building offices and showering facilities are near completion. A library, kitchen, dining hall, laundry facility, business center and community room are also under construction.
The biggest addition so far is the onsite Mercy Clinic that will provide medical assistance to these residents.
After it’s all done, the Riverview Hope Campus will be a place where people can receive the help they need to build a better life.
The project was started by the Old Fort Homeless Coalition and this dream of theirs is quickly becoming a reality.
“It’s been a long time coming and has been a lot of hard work by a lot of different people,” said executive director Mitch Minnick. “We’ve worked hard to raise the funds to make the renovations to the building so that Hope Campus could come and take over with the operations."
The project was funded by donations, state funds and Community Development Block Grants.
Construction on the Riverview Hope Campus is expected to be finished by June. The onsite Mercy Clinic is going to start seeing patients in August. The entire campus is set to open by the end of October 2017.