Arkansas ministry launches initiative to unite families during addiction crisis

PINE BLUFF, Ark. — A ministry in Jefferson County is hoping to open a shelter for women in need or in addiction with the goal of keeping families together. 

Common Ground Ministries in Pine Bluff already helps men in addiction or in need, but after seeing the lack of resources, they decided to start looking for more solutions.

”Common Ground Ministries here in a sub spring area in Jefferson County has been a force we reckon with,” Sheriff Lafayette Woods of Jefferson County said.

The room at the Committee Against Spouse Abuse (CASA) women’s shelter is limited, and because of that, Common Ground Ministries is hoping to open a program for women.

“They have supported individuals in need, particularly those who have found themselves displaced, those who have suffered for substance abuse. So there’s been a great need for housing for those who have been homeless and found themselves displaced, particularly with women,” Woods said.

Woods said during COVID is when law enforcement really started to see an uptick in homelessness and displacement, putting pressure on the current shelters in place.

“This is something I think we most definitely need, and we need it like yesterday,” Woods said.

“The need is great. Now when you do take a woman off and give them a place, they can finally get that minute of time for themselves,” Paul Benarbachian, director of Common Groudn Ministries, said.

But he also said that the goal is to keep families together.

“What we want to do is we want to open it up for all the women struggling with addiction, for them not to be separated with their kids. We want the kids to be there,” Benarbachian said.

The goal for Common Ground Ministries is a simple one.

“If we can put the community together to be one whole—the churches that come alongside these women, to help these women to be better mothers, to be better sisters, to be better daughters. That’s my main goal for that,” Benarbachian said.

The ministry also was open during severe weather as a shelter for those who needed a place to go.

“It was an honor for me to open up Common Ground Ministries to be able to be available for the community. When you had six to 10 degrees here, I saw the need. There was a lot of people struggling, that were sleeping out here, that had no place to go. To me, I didn’t see it being fair where people wouldn’t open up their homes, or wouldn’t open up their own shelters to allow these people,” Benarbachian said.

The ministry also helped Jefferson County employees during the budget crisis when they were not receiving a paycheck.

“Common Ground put together about 250 boxes of food. And I mean full boxes. We took it over to White Hall. We went into the community, and we started to go ahead and feed all the sheriffs, all the county workers that didn’t have anything. We were able to be a blessing. We served them. We carried their foods to the cars,” Benarbachian said.

More information about the ministry can be found on their website.