Northwest Arkansas Childrens Shelter

Archives for July 2019

Austin’s Story

by Paulette Nesbitt, Title I Aide The effects of childhood trauma are vast and unique to each child. In the case of Austin*, an 11-year-old in our care, the physical, emotional, and social effects of trauma exposure impacted every aspect of his academic day. Initial reading and math assessments placed him two years below his fifth […]

Jenny

Jenny fought her whole life to be free of abuse and neglect. She finally escaped that world and arrived at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter where she immediately began to thrive.

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Meet Jenny

Jenny fought her whole life to be free of abuse and neglect. She finally escaped that world and arrived at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter where she immediately began to thrive. For the first time in 17 years, she imagined living a normal life just like every other high school student. This included a wish to go to high school prom.

Casey, her case manager during her stay at the Children’s Shelter, shares:

“My heart is filled with so much joy! I got the privilege to go to prom with one of my kiddos from the shelter. No, it wasn’t a typical prom situation, but when a kiddo finally escapes abuse for the first time in 17 years, we do all we can to make it a perfect night for her. She is strong, resilient, courageous, unique, ambitious and unassuming. She inspires me and she is one of the million reasons I will never stop fighting for these kids. Prom night was a sweet reminder that no matter how many hard days we have to face, these special moments make every single hard day completely worth it. If these kiddos can endure years and years of abuse, then we can endure an infinite number of hard days. We have to, because they need us.”

Casey Krisell, Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter Case Manager

I tried a cupcake for the first time.

Kylee, age 6

I felt like I was being taken care of for the first time.

Kyle, age 9

Thank you for never giving up on me when I was lost.

Rachel, age 17