victims

Diana’s Story*

Diana approached us after her husband was arrested. She had been married for several years and the abuse had been escalating from passive aggressive behavior to physical violence and threats of homicide. During this time she had lost her business and many friends due to the control and manipulation her abuser subjected upon her. Diana had to open a secret safety deposit box so she could keep important documents and family photos secure. She feared the worst when he was released from jail, and wanted to make sure that she would be safe.

Our advocates safety planned with Diana and also assisted her with filing an Order of Protection. She was able to secure her own housing without staying in shelter, but she still felt afraid and constantly worried that her abuser would find her and kill her like he always said. She wanted to purchase some home security devices, but after pricing the items she needed and realizing she could not afford them, Diana decided she would make some homemade booby traps and use those instead. Although she now had a way to be notified of an intruder, Diana still failed to feel safe at home and had a lot of trouble sleeping at night.

During this time Diana continued to come to our support groups and meet with our Support Services Advocate. She found it helpful to process what she had experienced with other survivors and began to feel like her life was coming back together. One day after support group, her advocate approached her about an opportunity. NWAWS had just received a donation of home security devices (window alarms, exterior motion lights, and home security signage) that clients could use to make their homes more secure and Diana was able to select several items that would work for her house.

Like Diana, many of our clients need support outside of our shelter. Last year, we were able to help 260 individuals on an outreach basis through our court advocacy program, support group, one-on-one meetings, job resources, or special events. Rebuilding one’s life after leaving an abusive partner or family member does not require a one-size fits all approach. Instead it requires a community of support and the ability to have needs—such as home security—met.

Through our support group and outreach programs, victims of domestic abuse are able to transition to becoming survivors by learning to find their own self and experiencing the freedom to become the person they have never been able to be. For the first time in a long time (or in some cases, ever), our clients begin to feel comfort and hope.

Our Support Services Advocate describes the transformation as simply “watching them grow”. She uses the illustration of a puzzle box: full with a thousand pieces, but so shaken and scattered that you do not know where to even begin putting it back together. Over time and with the support and guidance of others, these individuals begin to assemble their puzzle. By doing so, they begin rebuilding their lives.

A few weeks ago, Diana spoke to her advocate and shared that she can finally call her house, “home”. She was able to go and bring home her safety deposit box because today she feels safe. She feels complete.

Because of your support, we are able to help individuals like Diana create new lives without violence and fear. Peace of mind is something many of us take for granted but domestic violence survivors truly appreciate. Please consider joining our village and supporting us financially. It’s easy to do! Click here to donate online or here to learn more about donation options. Want to speak to someone directly? Please call our Development Director, Merritt Royal, at 479-246-0353 X 140.

Do you think you might be in need of our outreach services? Please call us 24/7 to speak with an advocate: 479-246-9999 or 1-800-775-9011.

*Name changed to protect privacy

(Above: Kay Harvey & Regina Gower look on as Julie Robins of White Wing Loft releases a dove at the Silent Witness Closing Ceremony)

Since 2013, we have recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October) in a special way by holding the Silent Witness Project. Our campaign is a local display of the movement created by the Silent Witness National Initiative which began as a way to bring awareness to communities about the toll domestic abuse plays in families’ lives.

Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter uses this project to speak out against the recent domestic homicides that occurred in the state of Arkansas for the previous year. We do this by using life-sized red silhouettes to represent each victim (whether man, woman, or child) as we march and speak out on their behalf. We also place these silhouettes along with the story of the person that they represent in area businesses during the month of October so that others will learn more about the victim who is no longer with us.

Last fall, we honored the 11 lives that our state lost in 2014 due to domestic violence. Ten were women and one was the unborn child of one of the victims.

We marched with silhouettes representing them.

We read their stories and learned about the struggles they and other victims faced.

And we released doves for them as a symbolic way to release them from this earth.

Perhaps the most terrible result of domestic homicides is that while these 11 individuals do not get the opportunity to live their lives, in most cases their abusers do. We combat this cruel reality by recognizing and honoring the victims who are no longer able to share their stories with us. By speaking up for them and allowing their silhouettes to silently speak on their behalf, they are not forgotten and we hope their deaths are not in vain.

As advocates for our clients as well as all victims and survivors, we want to make sure their stories are heard and their struggles are shared. Domestic abuse is a community problem and it will take all of us working together to correct it.

Booth at the Silent Witness Opening Ceremony

Marchers at the March to End Violence in Downtown Rogers

Marchers at the March to End Violence

Detective Glynn Bertrand of Bentonville Police Department speaks about how domestic abuse affects us

John McGee and Leslie Folsom hold the March Banner

Kay Harvey shares her story and the story of her daughter who was killed two years ago.

Booth at the Silent Witness Opening Ceremony

Dr. Todd Kitchens shares NWACC’s role in reducing domestic violence

John McGee, Executive Director of NWAWS, explains how domestic violence effects NWA

Regina Gower shares her sister’s story

Kay Harvey and Regina Gower look on as Julie Robins releases a dove

Special thanks to the committee members and partners who helped make this year a success! We appreciate you!

For more photos of our 2015 Silent Witness events, check out our Facebook page. To learn more about Silent Witness, click here. Interested in getting involved? Send Amber an email at alacewell@nwaws.org.

NWAWS received a lot of support from the NWA faith community in 2015.

In fact, we received over $22,000 in financial support and in-kind contributions from 36 different faith groups last year!

Faith-based organizations supported NWAWS in a variety of ways, including:

cash contributions promoting donation drives regular item giving (e.g. weekly purchases of cleaning supplies) special offerings bingo nights alternative gift markets shelter room renovations

The opportunities really are endless for our faith community to get involved with us. We are so grateful for all of the support that we received in 2015 and are looking forward to a new year and forming new partnerships in 2016.

Thank you to the faith-based organizations who generously supported us last year:

Bella Vista Assembly of God

Bella Vista Community Church

Bella Vista Lutheran Church

Brightwater Memorial United Methodist Church

Catalyst Church NWA

Christian Women’s Job Corps

Decatur United Methodist Church

First Assembly of God

First United Methodist Church, Bella Vista

First United Methodist Church-Good Shepherds

First United Methodist Church Mission Team

Highland Christian Church Disciples Women

Highland Christian Church Renaissance Class

Highlands United Methodist Men – “Hummers”

Highlands United Methodist Women

Keypointe Church

Landmark Baptist Church

Living Word Lutheran Church

Mosaic at Fellowship Bible Church

New Hope Assembly Church

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Ladies Sunday School Class & Youth

Presbyterian Women of Bella Vista

Southside Church of Christ

St. Bernard Men’s Club & Knights of Columbus

St. Bernard Women’s Club

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

St. Theodore’s Episcopal Church

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School

The Ridge Community Church

United Lutheran Church of Bella Vista

United Lutheran Church Men’s Club

United Lutheran Church Women

United Methodist Church Men

United Methodist Church Women

Women at Peace – Peace Lutheran Church

Are you interested in getting your faith community involved in serving NWAWS? Please send us an email: info@nwaws.org. We look forward to connecting with you!

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

Reflections from 2015 NWAWS residents describing how they feel as a result of their stay. In 2015, the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter (NWAWS) provided temporary, emergency safe shelter and other services, on average, to 20 adults each month.

Our clients who resided in-shelter benefited from the following–at no cost to them.

Room, with a private bath, and utilities, paidFood, and access to a communal kitchen with cooking appliances, cookware, and dishes, allowing our residents to cook for themselves and their familiesBasic living essentials (toiletries, over-the-counter medicine, laundry detergent, etc.)Transportation financial assistance (as permitted by available funding) to/from work, school, medical appointments, court and other legal appointments, and job interviews24-7 access to a computer lab to create resumes, apply for jobs, and connect with familyProfessional advocacy services to identify personal goals of safety, create action plans for the future, and to connect clients with other community resources

While our clients do not pay, the cost (updated to today’s operational expenses) is $75 per day per adult.

Our name, the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter, implies that we provide shelter to women. But did you know, we are unique as we allow men who choose to end abuse and violence in their lives to also live in our Shelter? We do not discriminate in the provision of our services by age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, disability, citizenship status, or any other legally-protected classification.

(And almost half of our residents are children. We will provide more details regarding the children we serve in a later highlight.)

Other basic information about our Shelter’s adult clients who lived in-shelter in 2015:

The largest age group of adults living in our shelter is 18-29.The average household income, with the abuser’s income removed, was a little more than $7,300.Spanish was the primary language for 7% of our residents. Our bilingual professional advocacy staff, administrative staff, and volunteers eliminate language barriers in supporting victims of domestic and sexual violence.42% shared that they had witnessed domestic violence as a child. One in four had been molested as a child. We are committed to helping adults and families break the cycle of violence and abuse NOW—for both their lives now and for their children’s futures.Just under half of our residents lived in Benton County. Another 33% of our residents were from the other counties in the Northwest Arkansas region we serve: Carroll County, Madison County, and Washington County. In the efforts to escape from their abusers, the remaining residents came from other counties in the state and from other states (California, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin).

NWAWS also supports and provides safe shelter for victims of sexual violence who meet our eligibility requirements–another unique service we provide within our Northwest Arkansas region.

Nationally, studies show that 8% of victims of domestic violence experience sexual violence by their intimate partners. One in four of our residents in 2015 were victims of sexual violence, in addition to other forms of violence, abuse, and control.

And a small percentage (2%) shared they were victims of human/sex trafficking.

Highlight #11-Outreach Programs Provide Comfort and Hope

Thank you to the faith-based organizations who generously supported us last year: