by Ruthie Hokans, Learning Center VISTA
Just a couple of months ago, Donald Perry was usually the first
person I saw when I pulled up to the Learning Center every
morning. In his camouflage cargo pants and purple t-shirt, he
became a fixture around campus as the ever-busy, ever-working
Job Trainee for the Facilities department. After three months in
his position, Donald transitioned out of the Job Training Program
and into a full-time position as a groundskeeper at Baptist Health.
For almost 20 years, Donald has been chronically
homeless, moving around among Little Rock
(where he was born), Tennessee, California, and
Las Vegas. During the early ‘90s when Our House
was located on Main Street, Donald had stayed
there briefly, so last April, when Donald got off
the Greyhound bus from Las Vegas, he already
knew where he was headed—back to Our House.
Toward the end of his allotted sixteen-day job
search, Donald applied to the Job Training
Program on campus, which provides on-the-job
and life skills training for residents with significant barriers to employment. One of the biggest
benefits of the program that Donald describes
was learning how to use a computer in the
Learning Center, as well as taking a budgeting
and advising class. When asked about the effect
that Our House has had on his life, he said “Our
House is the best program in Little Rock.” He
also said that his time in the Learning Center
developing computer skills has been one of the
most valuable parts of the program. “I don’t know
where I’d be without the Job Trainee Program,…
probably back [on the streets].” When asked if