FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) – After months of discussion on a project that would allow New Beginnings to create eight low-income housing units, the project was voted down in a city council meeting Tuesday.

The price tag going into the meeting was $1.3 million, but it was amended during the meeting to $975,000 after complaints were made about the efforts that would need to be made to justify the funds through ARPA.

Solomon Burchfield, the executive director of New Beginnings, said this funding would have helped eight people living in transitional housing units move into something more secure.

“It’s going to be permanent housing that even accepts peope who are working on credit and criminal backgrounds and allow them to move out of new beginnings,” Burchfield said.

Fayetteville chief financial officer, Paul Becker, said the administration felt there were better ways to address homelessness.

Some of the solutions included more funding for those currently housed and more transitional housing, which Becker said would assist more people.

Council member Teresa Turk said she wants to see many more tiny houses built with a low cost, as opposed to the other three solutions that were brought to the table Tuesday night.

“We need to use these funds more smartly. I would rather see them go to long-term permanent housing for many,” Turk said.

Over 30 people gathered outside the city hall before the meeting Tuesday to voice their support of the resolution. Many of them made their way inside once it started for public comment, which lasted a little over an hour.

One of the women showing support outside the town hall was Jojo. She is a resident of the New Beginnings transition program. Before getting involved with New Beginnings, she was homeless for 11 years.

Jojo said there are many homeless people in the area, and she said while many believe homeless people are drunks, on drugs and panhandlers– that couldn’t be further from the truth. She said homeless people are just trying to get a step up and live their best life when given a bad hand.

“I don’t want to be back on the streets. I really don’t. What I’m doing today is making sure no one ends up back on the street,” Jojo said.

According to Burchfield, this vote would have just been a small step in the long journey to find homeless people a place to live and offer them resources to get back on their feet.

Since it failed, Burchfield said the next steps will be to find more solutions and keep putting work into assisting the people who need it.