FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Welcome health provides medical and dental care for those in need, and they asked for $75,000 in ARPA funds to provide no-cost medical and dental services to low-income, uninsured Fayetteville residents.
“Well we look at statistics from northwest Arkansas and currently there are 52,000 people who don’t have health or dental care,” said executive director Monika Fischer-Massie for welcome health.
Magdalene serenity house specializes in helping women who struggle with addiction and incarceration through safe housing. The organization asked for $128,789 to provide supportive recovery housing.
“This is a much-needed addition to our program. After our women their two-year program they're really struggling for safe and affordable housing,” April Bachrodt with Magdelene Serenity House explained.
Local nonprofits began this process in April to get the resolutions approved.
“But it focuses on the essentials of what we do and how we do it and who we serve and what money we use to serve those patients,” Fischer-Massie said.
Council member Sarah Moore says the organizations that applied for the funds are in crisis mode and have been for years.
“If you stay in crisis mode for too long you don’t sustain yourself and you don’t stand a chance of being around for the long term. So, if we want these agencies and these resources to be around for the long term, we need to give them some breathing room and assist them around for the long term by giving them resources that allow them to deliver very much-needed services in our community,” said Moore.
After the approval of the two resolutions at Tuesday’s meeting, there is now $354,000 left in ARPA funds.
“My colleagues and I will get back together and be very cohesive about what our plan is and what we want to invest in so that we can get the biggest investment for the money that’s left,” Moore said.
The city of Fayetteville's chief financial officer says it will take about a month to complete the agreement and move forward with the program.
“For every dollar that goes into treatment and recovery in our community multi-fold $7 plus goes back into the community,” Moore explained.
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