A non-profit community action agency serving Howard and 11 other counties has closed its doors after 48 years.
The Southwest Arkansas Development Council, Inc., had operated out of an office in the Senior Adult Center in Nashville for some time. The agency serves elderly and low income persons in the 12-county southwest Arkansas district, including Howard, Hempstead, Little River, Sevier counties.
Among the agency’s services were utility assistance, job search and self-budgeting programs, and home health.
The agency announced its closure in a press release aimed at getting the story out ahead of explanations given by the state, Regenia Emanuel told ‘The News-Leader”
Efforts at getting financial assistance from state legislators and the governor were fruitless, the newspaper was told.
Only a few administrative employees remain. Emanuel identified herself as the human resources manager for SWADC. She said the agency hoped to find a buyer for its assets.
Declining revenues and increasing competition from for-profit entities affected the agency, the news release stated.
