SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. — Jason and Heather Lanker own Arch and Axe, an adventure sports center in Siloam Springs offering axe throwing, archery, and smash rooms. Now, they're offering a warm place to stay for those that need it.
With winter weather in the forecast, Downtown Siloam Springs business owners met and were worried about people who are unhoused in the city having little to no options to take shelter in. So, Heather offered up their business.
"I have a building. It has heat. It used to kind of be apartments. We could open that up." Heather said. The couple remodeled the building, which was previously a flour mill, over two years ago.
Heather posted on Facebook shortly after, saying "With the extreme cold next week, Arch and Axe will open its door for anyone who needs shelter day and night. Open Saturday the 13th at 5 p.m. through Thursday the 18th at 9 a.m."
"I put one post up on Facebook, and the community just took hold of it and just ran with it. I mean, the donations that we've got," Heather said.
"It doesn't surprise me though. But because that's what's held us in Siloam is it's a community that really cares about other people," Jason added.
Both Heather and Jason said lots of downtown businesses have contributed to their warming shelter so far as well as other non-profits and churches in the area, including Genesis House, The Manna Center, Kind at Heart, and 7hills.
"They just said, 'Hey, if you need any help in this, let us jump in there. This is our thing this is what we're passionate about. And so you guys are just willing to open doors, and we can help you do it effectively,'" Jason said.
"The community has jumped in every single night, they're being fed by a restaurant here in town that's offering a meal free of charge," Jason said. "We have a bunch of board games that are in here, they're gonna come play games. There's Beautiful Lives. They're like, hey, come down and let some of these ladies just have a day of shopping."
This is the first time the couple has done anything like this before and said they're grateful to live somewhere where this many people care about others.
"Our town is a town full of people who really see themselves as family. And I think what this has done is just made people aware of something that they probably knew was there. And now there's an opportunity to be able to care about it," Jason said.
Jason and Heather say that, as of right now, Arch and Axe is completely full of donations, but they're encouraging the public to sign up to volunteer at the temporary shelter here.
Additionally, the couple is accepting donations through gofundme to help solve the longer-term housing issues in the city.
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