A place to stay

Searcy men’s home opens to transform lives

Volunteer Jimmy Cooper works in the garden behind the new men’s transitional home, Road to Damascus, in Searcy. The main purpose of the house is to give homeless men a safe place to stay while getting back on their feet, Cooper said.
Volunteer Jimmy Cooper works in the garden behind the new men’s transitional home, Road to Damascus, in Searcy. The main purpose of the house is to give homeless men a safe place to stay while getting back on their feet, Cooper said.

One step taken — or a seed planted — can change everything. A new transitional home that has opened its doors in Searcy aims to effect change with its goal to provide shelter and support to single homeless men in the area.

Jimmy Cooper, who formerly spent his time volunteering on the Mission Machine van in Searcy, said the home branched out from Mission Machine.

Road to Damascus is now a separate nonprofit organization with a separate budget, he said.

Cooper said there has never been an organization in Searcy with a focus on the homeless male community.

“Late last November, [Mission Machine was] approached by a gentleman who has a house. He wanted this house he owns to be used for this purpose. He gave us the key, and we opened on March 5,” Cooper said.

The main purpose of the house is to give homeless men a safe place to stay while getting back on their feet, he said.

“The common answer the general public often has for the homeless is, ‘Get a job.’ The problem is, the second and third items on most job applications are address and phone number,” Cooper said. “Even if you get past that, there’s the issue of going to an interview and not having had a place to clean your clothes or yourself.

“This house provides all of that for them. They have an address, a phone number. They’re able to bathe as much as they want, and there’s a washer and dryer.”

The house has three bedrooms, he said, and up to two men can stay in each room.

Cooper said the men who stay at the house aren’t charged anything but are asked to put back a third of their income until they have enough to move out and pay all of their deposits for an apartment.

All men who wish to stay in the house must submit to a criminal-background check and a drug test, he said, and must be mindful of neighbors.

Residents have an 8 p.m. curfew, and drug and alcohol use is prohibited in the house, Cooper said.

The house currently has three residents and has served nine men since opening.

Cooper said a vehicle was recently donated to Road to Damascus so he can give residents rides, such as taking them back and forth to work.

He emphasized that people are encouraged to stop by the house and visit with the men who are staying there.

“When you’re helping people — and this is whether they’re coming out of substance abuse or homelessness — one-on-one time with people is your most valuable asset. It establishes relationships, and change and help are better received through a relationship,” he said.

One activity that residents took part in over the summer was gardening at the house, he said.

“It reinstills what it’s like to work for yourself and be rewarded for that work. As an added bonus, we also have healthier food, and we’re not putting chemicals on our plants,” he said.

Residents planted okra, tomatoes, corn, peppers, watermelon, squash and spinach, he said.

“We bought tomato plants from a local grocery store, and they looked like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree,” he said, laughing.

“They were outgrowing the plastic container they were in and were starting to die off. We took them and planted them in the planter box where the previous renters had had some stuff,” he said.

Cooper said the four tomato plants flourished to 6 feet tall and are still providing tomatoes to this day.

“What these guys got to see were these plants that were near undesirable and unwanted, and they became these beautiful, leafed-out, fully developed things that were producing fruit we enjoyed,” he said.

“There’s a subconscious thought process that sees the plant rebound, develop and become what it was meant to be,” Cooper said. “The Road to Damascus name, whether you’re a person of faith or not — the narrative of that story is about personal rehabilitation. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Cooper said he hopes to help residents become who they’re meant to be, regardless of their pasts.

Most residents will be in the house for approximately six months, he said, and all ages are welcome.

When donating to Mission Machine, Cooper said donors are asked to specify which nonprofit organization they are donating to: Road to Damascus or Mission Machine.

Cooper said Road to Damascus is seeking monetary donations for groceries and residents’ needs, but also accepts material donations such as toiletries and cleaning items.

Board member Janie Orr said she works with residents to support and encourage them.

“I choose to be a part of this mission because people matter. We can help get a person off the street and have a new beginning,” she said. “Some people will always remain homeless, but this is a place to help a person who wants to change their situation.”

The house isn’t a place to be feared, but a place to celebrate a new beginning, she said.

Orr said if the house helps people get back on their feet and into society, she and other board members have done their job.

“My most memorable experience is when I received a call about a young man who did not have a place to live and was two weeks from graduating from high school,” Orr said. “He is working and saving his paycheck to be able to get an apartment. I think about how close we came to losing one more to the streets because that was the only option he had.”

Cooper said he hopes residents leave the house knowing that someone loves and cares about them.

The easiest part of his job is befriending the residents, he said.

Cooper said it’s especially important that individuals, groups, clubs and organizations visit with the residents of the house to build relationships and break down unfair stereotypes.

“I love being their friend, but I don’t want to be their only friend,” Cooper said.

Staff writer Kayla Baugh can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or kbaugh@arkansasonline.com.

Upcoming Events