SERVING FRTi~ s TA RT R_r Brilla1~J' Simer.1 Incoming freshmen and transfer student were able LO in\'est some of their first-year excitement and energy in a sen·ice project geared toward lowering the recidivism rate in Arkansas. On 1\ug. 20. at Impact, studem joined Restore Hope, a nonprofit organization that assisted ex-co1\'icts in rcemering society, Lo help lower those numbers. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchison formed Restore Hope in 2015 to combat the gap between government facilities and ex-convicts. Restore Hope worked in a partnership with The Good Grid, an online en ·ice provider that connected ex-convicts with legal aid, education, cmploymenL, counseling, child welfare sen ·ices and job training. Dr. Andrew Baker, director of the Mir hell Center, and Dr. Heath Carpenter, assistant professor of English, served on a state-level committee for Re Lore Hope. Ace rding to Baker, the idea to incorporate Impact studems and Restore Hope in a service project formed after they learned the organization had a special need. "The help they needed was to make sure they vetted all the service providers," Baker said. "The role Impact students played was [toJ act like they ju t came out of prison and call [to] sec if' these people were really who they claimed LObe. Then we could validate them for the website or remove them." The list of ervice prm·iders on The Good Grid had not been updated for some time, which could have potemially discouraged ex-convicts in their search for normalcy after prison, according L Carpemer. "lt ,ms really a 30-second com·ersation happening, but \\'C were able to \\'eed through, so people who really needed to access that information weren't spinning their wheels, getting frustrated and giving up,'' Carpenter said. Junior 1\Iichalie Brown, imern for Restore Hope, said seeing the Impact student. ' efforts from the oraanization's perspective was an exciting process. ''Even though it wa · tedious work, they loved it becau c they knew it was actually going to make a di rTcrence," Brown said. "It's good LOknow someone getting out ofprison is going to call a number some Harding student verified." Baker said studems were able to gain an awareness of the magnitude of a real issue that existed outside of the Harding community and learn how to 11·ork toward a solution. "It ,rn something very measurable [that] Impact was able to do,'· Baker said. "If we're going to be a community of mission, we have to be that community of mission next door.'· Carpenter said the student ' willingness to go through service providers' information and call businesses one-by-one saved money and time on behalf of Restore Hope and The Good Grid. "The success of that was the students," Carpenter said. "They reconfirmed my faith in the Harding ethos ofa student wanting to scn·c and use his or her talent and brain power for good. They were the heroes of that moment." I\ IP\C I' -( rt
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==