Little Rock, Arkansas – Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is pushing forward with a new approach to welfare reform that blends conservative governance with faith-based compassion. Through what she calls the 10:33 Initiative, Sanders aims to reduce dependency on government assistance by building a stronger bridge between state programs, nonprofit organizations, and faith communities across Arkansas.
The initiative, named after Luke 10:33 from the parable of the Good Samaritan, focuses on helping Arkansans not merely survive through temporary aid but thrive through long-term self-sufficiency. The program seeks to move people “from crisis to career,” as Sanders describes it, by combining government resources with the personal touch of community advocates and church-based support.
“I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Those are the nine most terrifying words in the English language, according to President Ronald Reagan. As a conservative Governor, I try to heed that warning when crafting state assistance programs,” Sanders wrote in her Fox News op-ed introducing the plan.
In the same piece, Sanders explained that her faith and upbringing as a pastor’s daughter inspired her to look beyond traditional welfare programs. She recalled the story of the Good Samaritan, where help came from an unexpected place. “It shows us that goodwill can come from surprising places, but that we have an obligation to help the neediest among us – regardless of who they are.”
With that biblical message serving as the foundation, Sanders said her administration is launching the 10:33 Initiative to create what she calls a “hand up” rather than a “handout.” The program aims to connect several hundred Arkansans enrolled in the pilot phase with local advocates—often from nonprofits or churches—who can provide personalized guidance and support.
“We’re leveraging our faith, business, and nonprofit allies to get Arkansans off government dependency and not trapped in a lifetime of poverty,” she said.
Sanders explained that one of the major issues in existing welfare programs is fragmentation. People who apply for assistance, she said, often need more than what a single program can offer. “When someone shows up at our door because they’re hungry and need food stamps, or because they lost their job and need unemployment insurance, chances are those aren’t the only services they need,” she wrote. “They need stability, an education, a job – and a pathway to a more permanent high quality of life.”
To achieve that, the 10:33 Initiative will match participants with community advocates who will help them navigate a variety of challenges beyond financial need—whether it’s access to stable housing, healthcare, or job training. These advocates will also direct participants toward LAUNCH, an online platform created by Sanders’ administration to connect job seekers with education and employment opportunities.
Under the pilot phase, the initiative will start in three Arkansas counties, covering only a few hundred families at first. But Sanders sees this as just the beginning. She hopes the program will eventually expand across the state—and perhaps even serve as a model for other states seeking to reform welfare with a conservative and faith-driven approach.
“I believe that this can work because it’s been proven time and again by Arkansas’ faith community and nonprofits,” Sanders said, referencing Restore Hope, one of the key nonprofit partners already supporting vulnerable Arkansans in more than a dozen counties.
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She highlighted several success stories that demonstrate the power of community-based support. In one case, a father of two reached out to Restore Hope while facing personal turmoil—his wife was dying of cancer, and he was battling substance abuse. With the help of the organization, he was able to find long-term care for his children while undergoing treatment himself. “Though his wife tragically passed, his two kids are now honor roll students and he is 43 months sober,” Sanders shared.
Another story involved a single mother who contacted Restore Hope because she needed a mattress for her young daughter. That small connection led to a relationship with a local church that later changed her life. “That simple request brought her in contact with a local church, so that when her car broke down several months later and she was desperate for help, she had someone to call. That very same day, a kind church member gave her a new car.”
For Sanders, these examples illustrate what she believes government alone cannot achieve: a compassionate, human connection rooted in community and faith. “Jesus tells us that ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,’ and driven by those words, our faith community’s generosity is enormous,” she said. “Until now, though, they didn’t work in sync with the government agencies spending billions each year on Arkansans in need. The 10:33 Initiative changes that completely.”
The initiative reflects Sanders’ broader governing philosophy, one that blends conservative skepticism of government expansion with an acknowledgment of the moral duty to care for the most vulnerable. In her view, effective welfare reform means reducing dependency by empowering people to reclaim control over their lives through employment, education, and family stability.
“This pilot program starts small, in just three Arkansas counties and covering just a few hundred families,” Sanders explained. “But if once we show the success of leaning on the faith community, coordinating care, and moving Arkansans off the path of dependency and onto the path to prosperity, we aim to expand it statewide – and create a blueprint for America.”
Critics of faith-based welfare programs have sometimes raised concerns about whether religious organizations can equitably serve diverse populations. However, Sanders argues that faith-driven compassion is not about ideology but about shared responsibility and results. She believes that combining the reach of government with the relational strength of community partners can achieve what bureaucratic systems alone have failed to do for decades.
Her message to fellow conservatives is clear: welfare reform must go beyond cutting costs or limiting access—it must fundamentally reimagine how assistance is delivered. “Conservatives know our welfare system is broken. Christians know we have an obligation to those in need,” she wrote. “The 10:33 Initiative unites common sense and compassion to deliver wraparound assistance that can actually transform lives.”
As the program begins its pilot phase, its success will depend on cooperation among churches, nonprofits, local governments, and the private sector. For Sanders, the ultimate goal is not just administrative reform but cultural renewal—restoring a sense of purpose and possibility to Arkansans who have long struggled in cycles of poverty.
By linking faith and policy in a practical, hands-on way, Sanders is attempting something that even her critics acknowledge is ambitious. The 10:33 Initiative may still be in its early stages, but for many Arkansans, it represents a hopeful experiment in how compassion and conservatism can coexist—and how government can help people by teaching them to stand on their own.
