IN THE VIDEO – Mr. Etho Pugh and several resident clients share stories. Residents offer a lookback on their past, but more importantly, the present state of how their lives are being transformed through the Ark of Hope. The AOH staff and the programing they offer, have made an indelible mark on the lives of those they serve.
COMING SOON TO
SOUTH DALLAS
Ark of Hope is creating the future of supportive housing in South Dallas. Aspiracia Village – “A Place Where You Can Aspire to Achieve More”, is a development envisioned by Mr. Etho Pugh (Founder and CEO), to create a healthy supportive housing environment for the formerly incarcerated. Aspiracia will be a place where lives can be transformed, through the professional care and work of the Arc of Hope team of professionals.
Making The Pitch
IN THE PHOTOS – Mr. Etho Pugh sits with Elder Charlton Craig, whose church (Faith Kingdom COGIC) owned the land for decades. After hearing Mr. Pugh share his vision, they would eventually agree to allow the Ark of Hope to purchase the property located on Prosperity Avenue in South Dallas. Members of the JDL Group and Arc of Hope staff are also captured in the images.
IN THE VIDEO – Mr. Etho Pugh stands before a panel of judges at the 2021 United Way – Social Innovation Accelerator, to pitch Ark of Hope’s vision for Aspiracia Village. Fast forward to the outcome, Arc of Hope was selected to advance to the next round later this year!
Aspiracia Site Plan 1
IN THE VIDEO – Site Plan 1 of Aspiracia Village – “A Place Where You Can Aspire to Achieve More” comes to life in this digital rendering of the proposed development.
IN THE PHOTOS – The vision of Mr. Etho Pugh comes to life in a series of photorealistic renderings, depicting the initial site plan for Aspiracia Village – “A Place Where You Can Aspire to Achieve More.” This is the future home of the Ark of Hope and its resident clients, coming soon to South Dallas.
Aspiracia Site Plan 2
IN THE VIDEO – Site Plan 2 of Aspiracia Village – “A Place Where You Can Aspire to Achieve More” comes to life in this digital rendering of the proposed development.
IN THE PHOTOS – The vision of Mr. Etho Pugh comes to life in a series of photorealistic renderings, depicting an alternate site plan for Aspiracia Village – “A Place Where You Can Aspire to Achieve More.” This is the future home of the Ark of Hope and its resident clients, coming soon to South Dallas.
THE FUTURE OF
SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
The Ark of Hope is a comprehensive Supportive Living Program committed to extending quality and affordable living services to those who need housing assistance while receiving treatment in the community. Founded in August of 2010, to serve an abandoned population in our community, The Ark of Hope’s major emphasis is to provide housing for formerly incarcerated individuals who have a dual diagnosis or a co-occurring disorder of mental illness and substance abuse.
THE PROBLEM
After three decades of explosive growth, the nation’s prison population has reached some grim milestones: More than 1 in 100 American adults are behind bars. One in nine black men, ages 20 to 34, are serving time, as are 1 in 36 adult Hispanic men. Nationwide, the prison population hovers at almost 1.6 million, which surpasses all other countries for which there are reliable figures. The 50 states last year spent about $44 billion in tax dollars on corrections, up from nearly $11 billion in the year 1987.
Incarceration
Persuading public officials to adopt a more rational, cost-effective approach to prison policy is a daunting prospect, however, not least because building and running jailhouses has become a major industry.
Criminal behavior partly explains the size of the prison population, but incarceration rates have continued to rise while crime rates have fallen.
The Cost
Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, and Oregon devote as much money or more to corrections as they do to higher education.
These statistics, contained in a new report from the Pew Center on the States, point to a terrible waste of money and lives. They underscore the urgent challenge facing the federal government and cash-strapped states to reduce their overreliance on incarceration without sacrificing public safety.
THE SOLUTION
Homelessness is a direct correlation to recidivism. Yearly, approximately 700,000 individuals return home from state prisons in the United States. In addition, 9 million are released from county jails. Over 10% of those coming in and out of prison and jails are homeless in the months preceding and following their incarceration. Homelessness is not just a public safety issue but a public health and community issue. Quality Supportive Housing is the key to ending this problem. This is where the Ark of Hope excels in providing not only housing, but an array of wrap-around services for people who fit this criteria.
The Savings
In February 2019, there were 341 (321 unduplicated) homeless people booked into jail with an average of 37 days in jail per person (white, 2019). Dallas County spent $572,880.00 ($539,280.00 unduplicated) in February 2019 on the 341 homeless people in jail (White, 2019). $33,600.00 was spent on high utilizers (repeat homeless offenders) in Feb. 2019.
If the 321 unduplicated homeless people were in jail February 2019 were in supportive housing, the cost would have been $341, 544.00 (a savings of $186,336.00). Supportive housing is only two-thirds the cost of incarceration of homeless people.
The Benefits
At Terrell State Hospital, the region’s psychiatric hospital, a day costs $401.00 per patient. A day in the Dallas county jail costs $70.00 per inmate, plus the expenses of booking and police time (Pishko, 2018).
Comparatively, housing with wrap-around services in The Ark of Hope Supportive Living Program is $40.00 per day per individual. This is comparable to other supportive housing programs funded through Continuum of Care (lead homeless agency funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to address homelessness) in Dallas County.
THE APPROACH
The Ark of Hope program has its roots in providing housing for Criminal Justice involved clients. The Ark of Hope presents a unique collaboration with Dallas County Criminal Justice Agencies, Homeless shelters, Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division, and other community-based housing programs to provide housing and case management services for an array of clients. The Ark of Hope uses existing community relationships to provide other needed wrap around services (i.e. Transportation, food, treatment services, medication management, etc.).
Capacity
The Ark of Hope program staff provides a variety of services to our clients such as serving as court liaisons for multiple courts, connecting clients to community behavioral health resources and other services.
The Ark of Hope is responsible for administering all grants administration /management and reporting requirements to the referring agency. The Ark of Hope staffs convene at regular meetings and provide written monthly client progress reports and ensure information for reports and expenses are collected and processed. READ MORE >>>
Performance
Many clients that qualify for the Ark of Hope services are released back into homelessness and joblessness only to return to jail repeatedly; often for petty crimes such as criminal trespassing and loitering. The goal of the Ark of Hope is to reduce rates of recidivism among Criminal Justice involved clients.
Hence, reports and information from the program manager are discussed at the monthly meetings. Additionally, we perform data analysis comparing recidivism rates of program clients post housing with their pre-housing recidivism rates to determine if the program is accomplishing the goal to reduce rates of recidivism among this population. READ MORE >>>
Sustainability
The Ark of Hope has purchased 3 acres of property in South Dallas, to develop a site plan to be approved by the city of Dallas, with buildout of a series of multi-bedroom homes in a village campus, to provide our clients with a drug and alcohol free environment.
The Ark of Hope is financially stable and able to provide services at its current level for the next 10 years. However, our desire is to grow our model and expand the impact of our organization. Our model is only limited by land and capital investment. READ MORE >>>
Possibilities
The Ark of Hope seeks to partner with both individuals and, organizations. If you are a government agency, a for or non-profit business, a charitable foundation or private individual, we can help you realize a part of your vision that may be based in establishing a positive social impact in the world.
We are growing an effective and sustainable business model that creates impact by serving an abandoned population in our community, The Ark of Hope’s major emphasis is to provide housing for formerly incarcerated individuals who have a dual diagnosis or a co-occurring disorder of mental illness and substance abuse. READ MORE >>>