Fort Smith Four
Covering Local News and Local Issues
Fourth Annual Box City at UAFS
Patricia Hofferber
November 30, 2015
On the evening of October 9, UAFS students and faculty gathered at the campus green outside the old gymnasium to build houses and shelters out of cardboard. The students spent the night inside the shelters to bring awareness to hunger and homelessness in the Fort Smith area and across the country. They shared a meal of barley soup prepared by Dr. Krehbiel, bread and butter, and water--a traditional meal served in homeless shelters throughout the nation. The Non-Traditional Student Organization provided security for the group.
Over eight student organizations competed with each other for the best homeless shelter. All of the shelters were exceptionally creative and ranged from a traditional Tudor home built by Applause to a fort, complete with a tank, built by the Veterans’ Organization. Students brought canned goods to vote for each other’s houses, and the shelter with most canned good won the contest. Applause won and received a $200
cash prize added to their SGA account. The canned goods benefited the Next Step Homeless Services.
Dave Stevens, Director of Student Engagement said this is the fourth year that UAFS and the Next Step Homeless Services has hosted Box City. He said that not only was Box City about homelessness in Fort Smith, but also about hunger. “Hunger is a big issue, not only in Fort Smith, but also on campus. Many students struggle to have enough to eat.” When asked if he knew of any homeless students on campus, Stevens said that he was not aware of any, but the office of Student
Affairs has a contingent plan in action, and if students are struggling with hunger or homelessness, his office can give students referrals to agencies that can help.
Stevens said he wanted to thank Alpha Packaging for providing the cardboard used in making the shelters and River City Bistro for providing a hot and delicious breakfast Sat. morning.
Amy Sherill from the Next Step Homeless Services said, when asked about the homeless in Fort Smith “We see a lot more families than we used to.” When asked how many individuals Next Step serves, Sherill said, “On a daily bases, we see between 80 and 120 different individuals. On a monthly bases, we see 450 different individuals. On a yearly bases, we see about 1700 different individuals.” When asked if she thought that having homeless services in Fort Smith brought in more homeless people from other areas, Sherill answered, “All of our clients are Arkansas born.”