Our History
Our House was incorporated in September of 1987 following two years of study into the ever-growing problems of the homeless in Central Arkansas. The study, which was conducted by the Arkansas Conference of Churches and Synagogues (the Arkansas Interfaith Conference), the United Way of Pulaski County, and other interested community agencies, determined that the greatest need was to find shelter for homeless families. Two shelters in Little Rock offered only short-term stays for individuals, with no place for families to stay together and no assistance with long-term needs and planning. Our House set out to fill this gap and to meet the needs of Central Arkansas’s working homeless population.
Under the leadership of founding director Joe Flaherty, Our House initially established a 40-bed emergency shelter in 1988 in the old parish hall of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in downtown Little Rock.
Our House launched Potluck Food Rescue in 1989 with grant funding from UPS, and since then Potluck has spun off into its own nonprofit organization which provides food to more than 7,000 hungry people each week (including residents of Our House).
Our House opened its Family Housing program on the grounds of the old VA hospital in southeast Little Rock in 1991, enabling homeless families to live in an apartment-style setting to better prepare them for success in their own homes.
Our House began its job skills training programs, with an initial focus on training for computer jobs, the first such program for homeless people in the nation. Our House also began providing free childcare to take care of homeless children while their parents work full-time jobs.
Construction was completed on an 80-bed emergency shelter at the southeast Little Rock site. This new facility consolidated all of Our House’s programs in one location, nearly doubled residential capacity, and gave residents a more home-like environment.
In 2006, new Executive Director, Georgia Mjartan’s first initiative was to launch after-school and summer programs for school-aged youth, the first such programs specifically for homeless children in the state.
In 2006, Our House helped to found Harmony Health Clinic, a free clinic for uninsured low-income people located across the street from Our House.
After undergoing substantial renovations, our Family Housing facilities were completed in 2010.
Our House widened its scope of assistance with an on-site Central Arkansas Family Stability Institute program for families in danger of becoming homeless. Made possible by the Siemer Institute for Family Stability and Heart of Arkansas United Way, CAFSI involves families in case management with access to Our House’s services.
In 2013, Our House introduced a Reentry program in the Career Center on campus, designed to target the particular barriers to employment formerly incarcerated residents face.
After breaking ground in 2013, a new Children’s Center opened in June of 2014. The new Children’s Center more than tripled our daily capacity to serve children in our licensed child development center and out-of-school-time youth programs.