Clay Roper Western Arkansas Youth Shelter
Since 1984, CJS has operated an emergency shelter, the Western Arkansas Youth Shelter (WAYS) in Cecil, Arkansas.
The Clay roper Western Arkansas You Shelter is now located in our brand new facility in Mulberry, Arkansas. After 16 years of raising funds for the new facility, our dream has been realized with our beautiful new $2.1 million facility located in the heart of Mulberry, Arkansas.
The new shelter is named for Clay Roper, our former Shelter Manager who dedicated his life to serving children who find their way into shelter care. In the words of Clay, “Our kids are normal kids; they just need a chance. They just need somebody to push them along the way. All our children need the same thing any other kid in the world needs. They need to know they’ve got people that help them, they’ve got people that care about them and want them to succeed.”
Runaway or homeless youth may also receive emergency shelter at WAYS until such time as a parent, guardian or custodian can be notified and arrangements made to return the youth to his or her home or alternative placement.
These services are made possible by Basic Center Program grant funds received from the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau
While in residence at WAYS, youth are enrolled in the local school district's educational program and receive on-site classroom instruction at the shelter. Youth also receive a safe place to stay- for up to 60 days- health screening, assessment, casework management, individual, family, and group counseling, crisis intervention, transportation, and recreation.
On many nights at the WAYS, a group session is held with participation from all youth in residence along with WAYS staff. The topics of discussion are normally geared toward issues of those youth currently in residence, -information which has been obtained from staff observations, youth discussions, and caseworker input- such as family issues, decision-making, substance use and abuse, refusal skills, personal accountability, and relationships with a focus on redirecting youth behaviors and attitudes in order to achieve success.
