Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Walker for his contributions. I appreciate his thoughts. When I think about one of the most challenging things that we face in our country, I think about homelessness. When I first became a Member of Congress, it was one of particular interest to me to learn what was happening in Little Rock about homelessness because Arkansas has the third highest rate for children and families in homelessness, so it was a keen issue. One place I found that was a major success story in using private money and some public money was an entity called Our House. It was founded back in 1987 to address the gap in services for central Arkansas' working homeless and homeless families. They now have a 7- acre campus in downtown Little Rock, and Our House empowers homeless and near-homeless families and individuals to succeed in the workplace. Between 110 and 120 men, women, and children call Our House's campus home every night, and it serves about 1,800 people annually, about 75 percent of whom are coming to Our House completely homeless. But the shelter's goal is not just simply to provide a safe place for a few nights. It is to permanently break the cycle of homelessness by equipping the working homeless with the skills to be successful in the workforce. In her decade of leadership of Our House as executive director, Georgia Mjartan has done a remarkable job overseeing the expansion and growth of the shelter into a one-stop shop to address the root causes of poverty.…”