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HEART NWA outlines resource-navigation services; highlights rental-assistance gaps and 24-hour referral turnaround
Summary
Chantelle, director of community resources at HEART NWA, described the group's referral platform (accessible via Arkansas 2-1-1 and heartnwa.com), services offered, team size and a typical 24-hour response time; members discussed sharing the service through Fayetteville's community resources newsletter.
Chantelle, director of community resources for HEART NWA, presented the nonprofit's resource navigation work for Northwest Arkansas and described how providers and residents can access services.
"We have partnered with Arkansas 2-1-1," Chantelle said, explaining that callers to 211 in Northwest Arkansas are routed into HEART's queue and can also self-refer via heartnwa.com; organizations can embed a referral link on their websites. She said HEART uses a liaison model with individual plans and a follow-up process; the organization tracks service referrals and reviews resource listings regularly to avoid sending people to expired programs.
Chantelle described HEART's scope: the team uses a framework of 10 social determinants of health, 50 need categories, more than 200 services and roughly 3,700 solutions in the database. She said HEART currently operates with six liaisons and two directors; during the COVID-era Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) work the organization temporarily expanded contracted staff to about 14.
On common needs, Chantelle said rental assistance remains a major unmet need in Northwest Arkansas, prompting HEART staff to help callers prioritize bills and navigate other community resources. HEART also catalogs free and reduced-cost mental-health referrals, church-based services and digital contact options. "We try to do a turnaround in 24 hours," she said, describing a standard follow-up window; if a caller does not receive contact, providers can check the queue status.
Chantelle said liaisons can meet clients in person when needed; HEART maintains a presence in Rogers and works with emergency-management partners, Red Cross and local nonprofits after disasters. She recommended collaboration with the City's community resource division and mentioned Yolanda Fields as a contact for Fayetteville distribution channels such as a quarterly newsletter.
Chantelle offered a direct contact phone number for providers and partners: (479) 325-4105, and she reiterated HEART's willingness to support the advisory group's outreach and to be added to Fayetteville distribution lists.
The presentation prompted members to note HEART's growing role in the region and to ask staff to explore linkage between Fayetteville channels and HEART's referral tools.
