Seven Hills Homeless Center, in the beginning …

From Kimberly Gross Pennell, 7hills Founder

In 1998, as a graduate research assistant in sociology at the University of Arkansas, I collected demographic and ethnographic data on shelter residents who stayed at the Fayetteville Salvation Army. One of the guests told me that they needed a safe place, where people struggling to get back on their feet could find a telephone to call employers, shelter from the cold, wet, or heat of the outdoors, transportation to appointments, and someone to talk to about steps to address their challenges.

Another of the guests, Ronnie Tynes, accompanied me on the trolley route, looking for an empty space that could hold a day center. During the rides, we brainstormed names. Ronnie noted that Jerusalem, Rome, and Fayetteville were all built on seven hills. We chose that name because homeless people often face seven obstacles on the road to sustainable lives:

1. Physical illness or injury, dental needs, and access to prescription medication

2. Mental illness

3. Substance use

4. Lack of identification and transportation

5. Need for long-term, living-wage employment

6. Shortage of safe, affordable, permanent housing

7. Absence of a safety net of financial and social resources

Through the research, I had collected a list of things that people needed to move forward, which I took to Rev. Lowell Grisham, pastor at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Fayetteville. He suggested that I bring the day center idea to the church’s vestry, which approved underwriting the lease for a 12,000 sq. ft. building at 1563 W. 6th St., on the trolley route, not far from The Salvation Army.

From the first day—in November of 2000, when one volunteer and one homeless person visited—to today, when multiple campuses and programs assist many hundreds of people seeking homes and stability, the Northwest Arkansas community has supported the services and staff of Seven Hills in a most generous way.

With hard work and passion, homelessness may one day be minimal or unimaginable. Hope never dies!