Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Courage House vitally important to Clark County region

In 1989 Cheryl Allen came to Arkadelphia as a single mother of two. Allen had been raised in Texas and lived during her 15-year marriage.

When she found herself divorced after those 15 years, Allen also found herself to be homeless, uneducated and having no one to turn to.

"Like most people do when something bad happens to them in their life, I ran to my mommy", saId Allen, "Mother was working in Arkadelphia as Dorm Mother at one of the colleges. She didn't have anywhere for me to stay and I still didn't have anywhere to turn, at least I had her though."

Allen said she soon found herself in a shelter that had been started in Arkadelphia in 1978.

"The people in this community are excellent. They really care about what happens to people. The community joined together to receive grant money and a house was donated. That is how the original shelter began. It has grown so much over the years," said Allen.

Allen said the shelter wasn't just a place to stay. The shelter representatives counsel the women to help them get back on their feet, have confidence and encourage them to get an education.

"When I entered the shelter I was a ninth grade drop out. Shortly after I was taken in by the shelter I received my G.E.D (General Education Diploma). One month later I was enrolled in college and now I am just a few credits away from having my master degree," Allen said.

Allen is involved day to day activities and planning for the Courage House located in Arkadelphia.

Allen stated, "Courage House was actually established in 1984 as a community response to the problem of providing services to battered women and children in the area. Since that time, Courage House has served more than 5,000 women and children and evolved from an organization that provides shelter emergency shelter into a viable resource for information, prevention education, crisis intervention, and extended services to victims and the community.

The emergency shelter operates 24-hours-a-day annually and has a 25-bed capacity with a professional staff to deliver services. Courage House is the only provider of these services in a five county area.

"We serve Clark, Pike, Hot Spring, Dallas and Nevada counties as well as referrals from all over the state," Allen said

"Anyone needing help or someone to talk to can call us at anytime, our number is (870) 246-3122."