Northwest Arkansas Childrens Shelter

Archives for August 2019

Charter school in Northwest Arkansas for kids in trauma favored

Jake Gibbs, Education Director, and Maury Peterson, Executive Director of the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter watch Tuesday, August 13, in Little Rock as their charter school application is approved by the Charter Authorizing Panel. – Photo by John Sykes Jr. Story by Cynthia Howell, Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Hope Academy of Northwest Arkansas Charter Approved

The Arkansas Charter Authorizing Panel has approved an open-enrollment charter school to be housed on the campus of the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter (NWACS). Hope Academy of Northwest Arkansas is designed to serve children who have experienced significant childhood trauma. It will be the first of its kind in Arkansas and one of the first […]

Demonte

Recently, we had an intelligent, hard-working young man in our care. His name was Demonte and he was 15 years old. One day, he got upset in class and took off out of the building like he was planning to run away. This is not an uncommon reaction from the children in our care. Many […]

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Meet Demonte

Recently, we had an intelligent, hard-working young man in our care. His name was Demonte and he was 15 years old. One day, he got upset in class and took off out of the building like he was planning to run away. This is not an uncommon reaction from the children in our care. Many have been taught that their only two options, when circumstances are beyond their control, are fight or flight. This time, Demonte chose flight.
Lisa, one of our amazing Youth Care Specialists, followed after him and was calling out his name to stop him from walking away. Finally, he did stop and Lisa was able to convince him to return. Later that afternoon, when he was talking through what had happened, he said, “When I heard Mrs. Lisa saying my name, it made me realize that no one in my family or in my life would ever have cared if I ran away. The only reason I stopped is because I knew Mrs. Lisa must care about me because she came after me.”
This is just one story, among hundreds each year, that shows how much our youth care staff impact the children in our care – every day. It is an honor to be here for these kids when they need us the most.

While at the Shelter, I went from an 8th grade math level to almost a 12th grade level. I’m pretty proud of that.

Tasha, age 17

The Shelter is a great place with warm hearts, open minds and lots of care.

Angela, age 14

This place has made me feel the most at home. What makes it so special is the staff. I have never met such caring and dedicated staff.

Katie, age 14