Founded in 1987, Our House is the only shelter provider in Arkansas able to accommodate a homeless family of any size. The organization operates a seven-acre campus in the Pettaway neighborhood of Little Rock, where it serves families and individuals working to move out of homelessness and into stable housing and employment. Services on the campus include transitional housing, mental health care, an on-site health clinic operated in partnership with ARCare and Arkansas Children's Hospital, an NAEYC-accredited child development center, out-of-school programming for youth, case management, career training, and reentry support. Co-locating these services allows parents to pursue employment and training while their children receive care and education on the same campus.

To expand capacity to better meet demand, Our House is completing the final phase of Building New Beginnings, a 13,902 sq. ft. addition to its campus. Our client, Hope Enterprise Corporation, supported the project by providing $11 million in Federal New Markets Tax Credit allocation.

The expansion adds 11 family transitional housing units — a 46% increase in campus housing capacity — along with community living space, a mental health office, and a new intake and client services center designed so that families arriving in crisis are received with dignity and connected to the full range of campus services from day one. The project also includes the construction of an enclosed bus stop intended to help address transportation barriers faced by clients seeking work, a therapeutic playground, a bike station, an outdoor pavilion, and a new guard booth.

Services Provided by Classic Lake:

• New Markets Tax Credit CDE Advisory

Community and Economic Impacts

• Creates 65 construction jobs

• Creates 16 new and retains 78 permanent full-time positions

• Adds 11 family transitional housing units

• Serves an estimated 4,500 people annually across housing, healthcare, childcare, career, and youth programs