City of North Little Rock Announces Partnership for Municipal Identification Program
North Little Rock, Arkansas (Monday, April 25, 2022)…The City of North Little Rock is proud to announce a partnership with Seis Puentes/Butterfly Ministries in the development and implementation of a Municipal Identification Program for North Little Rock. “Our City has placed their belief and support in Seis Puentes to partner on this much needed service,” shared Mayor Terry Hartwick. Raul Fernandez, Executive Director at Seis Puentes stated, “The relationships Seis Puentes has developed within the immigrant community continue to prosper. Seis Puentes empowers and supports the Latino/Hispanic community of Central Arkansas through education and information, creating connections and opportunities Latino/Hispanic communities and general life in Arkansas.” The City of North Little Rock believes Seis Puentes, is the natural channel to oversee the implementation of a Municipal Identification Program in North Little Rock. The identification program will benefit the immigrant community and also the elderly, homeless and others who lack any form of identification in our City. Many people in our community are unaware of the problem different groups of people encounter in beginning a new life. They are in need of identification for obtaining common things like utilities and opening a bank account. Through this partnership, Seis Puentes hopes to be the home to help all groups of people in North Little Rock become identifiable, involved and informed on the services and opportunities provided by our city and the Seis Puentes Resource Center. The North Little Rock Municipal Identification Program will begin mid-May at Seis Puentes Resource Center located at 4202 Camp Robinson Road, North Little Rock, Arkansas 72118.
History of Seis Puentes:
Seis Puentes is a project of Butterfly Community, a registered 501(c)3 organization. Butterfly Community began in 2001 with the help of several North Little Rock officials, including former Mayor Patrick Hays, as a response to gang violence. The Pulaski County Council for Children and Youth Services (PCCCYS) started a series of after school sites to serve as safe havens for youth and children at risk of becoming involved with gangs, violence, crime, and substance abuse. Butterfly Community supported two, Our Club sites in North Little Rock operated by Leifel Jackson, reformed leader of the original Gangster Crips who now nurtures and mentors at-risk children. The first club was in the old Argenta train station in the Sherman Park community, and the second in the Silver City Courts Housing Project. The clubs ministered to grade, middle, and high school students in the afternoons by providing nutritious meals and snacks, tutoring, school supplies, and school uniforms. In 2009, Mayor Patrick Hays again approached Butterfly Community to support programs within North Little Rock’s growing Hispanic population. In response, Butterfly began A Volar (Take Flight), an empowerment dance program for young girls ages 5 to 16. Butterfly also organized the PROM program to redistribute beautiful formal wear to hundreds of prom-hopeful girls. In February of 2012, Butterfly Community formally launched its new project, Seis Puentes Hispanic Outreach, and opened the Seis Puentes Education and Resource Center in Levy on Camp Robinson Road. The Center is fully equipped with computer work stations, printers, and projection equipment for classes, seminars, and workshops. The Seis Puentes Education and Resource Center in partnership with various strategic partners offers Adult Education classes including GED, WAGE, ESL, basic computer skills, job training, and distance learning. Hispanic outreach includes informational seminars, a youth dance program for students 2-18 years of age, art workshops, and cultural enrichment opportunities.
For more information, please contact Shara Brazear, Director of Communications for the City of North Little Rock at 501-351-2714 or by email, sbrazear@nlr.ar.gov