STAY TUNED

Event location and details will be published in January 2026

"Run for the Girls" is a fundraiser for the

Girls Shelter of Fort Smith, Inc

Where sheltering is just the beginning

Chip-Timed & USATF Certified 5K Course.  All age groups welcome.

T-shirts for entrants registered before May 24, 2026. 

ABOUT US

The Girls Shelter of Fort Smith - A United Way Community Partner - opened in 1970 as a temporary emergency shelter. Since then, the Shelter has developed and grown onto a long-term residential treatment facility. In April 2002, a new 7,000 square-foot facility was built on a two-acre lot at South 26th and Quincy. The shelter is licensed for eight girls, ages 12 – 17 years old. During the Summer, our girls volunteer for one of our sponsors or a United Way agency. 

The Girls Shelter strives to develop its residents into responsible citizens and community members. The girls are:

• Taught social and independent living skills.
• Given a sense of self-worth and taught to be responsible for their actions and decisions.
• Taught job skills and money management by working summer jobs.
• Required to attend and take an active part in school.
• Given individual treatment plans including structured goals and objectives.
• Provided counseling.
• The long-term goal of the Girls Shelter is to reunite the resident with her family.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to provide a safe and encouraging atmosphere in a residential setting for at risk females aged 12 – 17 years; to promote positive behaviors, character enhancement, educational advancement, and to reunite with family.

Many of our residents have had a less than desirable childhood. Common histories include physical and sexual abuse,
parents with drug issues, parents in prison and homelessness.

We teach personal responsibility, independent living skills and positive social skills. We provide case management,
individual and family counseling.

We provide a safe home environment, all food, transportation, personal items, and clothing. They receive individual and family counseling.

As one Board member put it, “we have one year to pour all the good into them we can possibly give them”.