Arkansas Pilots Faith-Driven “10:33 Initiative” to Offer a “Hand Up, Not a Handout”
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is promoting a new statewide effort as a “hand up, not a handout,” unveiling a pilot designed to connect residents with practical, local support.
Named for Luke 10:33, the 10:33 Initiative aims to assist Arkansans in crisis by linking them to nearby faith and community partners equipped to meet immediate needs.
Run through the governor’s Faith-Based Initiatives office, the 12-month pilot in Pulaski, Union, and Pope counties will help participants craft plans around essentials like housing, transportation, employment, and childcare.
Framing the initiative around the compassion of the Good Samaritan, Sanders said it is a call to care for neighbors despite differences or backgrounds.
“The purpose of that story, and what we want to be the driver behind this initiative, is looking for a way to bring our state together to help our most vulnerable citizens and lift them up at a time when they can really use a little bit of help,” the Republican governor told The Christian Post.
Reiterating that the project is not welfare, she described it earlier this month as “a groundbreaking project carefully curated to give Arkansans a hand up, not a handout.”
The program involves partnerships with the White House Faith Office, the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and the Arkansas Department of Commerce, among other supporters and donors.
Sanders noted the initiative is largely privately funded and leverages Hope Hub technology already deployed by the Arkansas nonprofit Restore Hope. In use across 19 Arkansas counties, Hope Hub connects individuals to service providers after an initial needs assessment.
“If there are people who can't work or who have significant challenges, we always want them to have a place to go,” she added. “But people who have the ability, we really want them to be able to get out there on their own and, ideally, pay it forward down the line.”
Emphasizing a faith-and-community approach to issues like housing or food insecurity, Sanders clarified that the effort does not replace or reduce state programs.
“The goal isn't to cut any state program,” the Republican governor said. “It's adding more to it by engaging more partners in the process.”
“And I think it is 100% not only the role, but also the biblical calling that Christians and the faith community should be stepping up to help people who need help,” she continued. “And in many cases, they're already doing this.”
