photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Mark Webster, a resident of New Beginnings NWA in Fayetteville, Arkansas, holds a coin from his coin collection in his hand. Webster is standing at the door to his 100-square-foot Pallet cabin; his friend and 6-year-old son are sitting on a built-in bed to the right.

When the Journal-World visited New Beginnings NWA in Fayetteville, Arkansas, it was clear that residents had a positive view of the bridge housing community.

Mark Webster, 50, was one of those residents, and a new one at that. When he spoke to the Journal-World Thursday, he’d been living in a Pallet cabin for about a month. But it didn’t take long for him to appreciate the community after having spent more than three decades unhoused in some capacity.

On that day, his 6-year-old son was visiting and accompanied him as he took care of chores around the property. He said the visit would not have been possible if not for his living there.

“(New Beginnings director Solomon Burchfield) and New Beginnings saved my life,” Webster told the Journal-World. “They gave me a chance for my son back. I was out here homeless most of 31 years. … I absolutely love it here. I’ve known everybody here for years out there, when we were all homeless. For years. This is my family.”

Webster, who served in the military for a number of years and previously worked as a builder and construction contractor, said he takes a lot of pride in living at New Beginnings NWA. When the Journal-World toured the community Thursday, he was walking around the site cleaning off sidewalks with a watering hose, picking up trash and at one point working on taking apart an old water jug so its spigot could be salvaged and fitted into something new.

The work he and the other residents do to maintain the Pallet community isn’t much to ask when you consider the benefits they get from it, Webster said, and he actually feels obligated to pay something back. He said he’s had previous struggles with drug and alcohol addiction and spent years in prison.

He said that at New Beginnings NWA, he feels like he won’t put himself in a position where he’s running into those troubles again. At the same time, he has the comfort of being able to stay in his own shelter where he can lock a door behind him.

“Just because I was out there in the woods like an animal doesn’t mean I have to live like one — or behave like one, or think like one,” Webster said. “I’m a human being.”

Webster said a typical day might involve walking next door to 7hills Homeless Center, a day center that provides services for a wider unhoused population than the 20 people staying at New Beginnings NWA. He’ll check his mail, grab some pantry items or spend time with his son if he has him for the day. He may also find a meal at an area church, which he said is possible to come by every day of the week.

Webster will also lend a hand to his neighbors and spend time on his hobby — growing his significant rare coin collection. He said he’s more often than not looking for something more to do, and he’s making an effort to make up for past mistakes.

“I messed up with all my other four kids — this is my last chance to get it right,” Webster said. “I’m going out with a bang.”

— This story is part of a series focused on the nearest city to Lawrence with an operating community of Pallet cabins — New Beginnings NWA in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Future stories in this series will focus on the supports and initiatives that exist in Fayetteville beyond the Pallet village, and how they compare to what supports in Lawrence could work in conjunction with the future Pallet Shelter Village.