Our crisis line rings every day. Even on the holidays.
Last year, our advocates and volunteers took a total of 1800 crisis calls. When compared to all the calls we answered, over 80% of our phone calls each day were from victims of violence or their families who are seeking our services. Our commitment to Northwest Arkansas is to always be available to take those calls, 24/7/365.
Domestic abuse does not take a break for holidays or weather. It happens in our community on a daily basis whether we admit it or not. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey[1] found that more than 1 in 16 women and 1 in 20 men experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in the year prior to their survey.
If we compare those numbers with our NWA population of an estimated 500,000 people, we would expect that over 25,000 individuals were abused by intimate partners last year alone.
Thankfully the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter has a service that can help. Anyone can contact our crisis line to receive support, make plans for safety, or simply share their story. We welcome these calls because it means abused individuals are reaching out for the help they need and our hope is that we can assist each person as they move toward a violence free life.
More information about the hotline calls we took in 2015:
- 106 callers were referred to us by law enforcement.
- 111 people were referred by a media source.
- At least 5 people found our information in the phonebook–a service we are required to provide under state law.
- 268 people called on behalf of a friend or family member who was a victim of domestic abuse.
- On average, a hotline caller had 2 dependents.
- 30 people were referred by a local hospital or medical facility.
- 50% of people had never contacted us before.
Are you in need of our services? Please contact us 24/7 at 479-246-9999 or toll-free at 1-800-775-9011.
Interested in volunteering and helping us answer these important calls? Email our Volunteer Coordinator, Sheri, at shammond@nwaws.org.
[1] Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J., & Stevens, M. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf