Northwest Arkansas Childrens Shelter

Archives for May 2020

Greer Named Employee of the Quarter

Congratulations to Janet Greer – our Employee of the Quarter! Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Janet has volunteered to pick up extra shifts on top of her regular schedule to make sure that our kids are always well taken care of. Janet has shown amazing patience, especially with a few of our kids who need one-on-one […]

Taylor Joins Board of Directors

We are happy to announce the addition of Landon Taylor to our board of directors! Landon currently serves as Bank President, CCO and COO of First Western. Landon has served on the Finance Committee of the NWACS Board since January 2018 and his more than 22 years of experience in banking and lending have been […]

Bequette Promoted to Director

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Krystal Bequette to Director of Human Resources and Administration for the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter. This promotion recognizes the contributions Krystal has made to the Shelter since she started with us in October 2017. Throughout her time at the Shelter, she has never hesitated to step in […]

Sliker Joins Board of Directors

We are happy to welcome Jim Sliker to our board of directors! Jim currently serves as the CEO of Central States Mfg, Inc., a 100% employee-owned company and leader in the metal building components industry. As CEO, Jim has encouraged the organization to challenge the status quo and find new opportunities which has resulted in revenue […]

Dinkla Joins Board of Directors

We are happy to announce the addition of Jess Dinkla to our board of directors! Jess currently serves as a Sales Director for The Hershey Company. During his tenure with the company he has held a variety of leadership roles within the sales, strategy, operations, and marketing functions. Jess has had the good fortune of […]

Abby

Let me tell you Abby’s story. It was one of the worst cases of neglect the police officer had ever seen. The children were covered in grime, clearly malnourished and sleeping on filthy pallets on the floor. The house had no running water and roaches infested the kitchen. There were visible scratches, bruises and burns […]

Read more about AbbyImpact stories

Meet Abby

Let me tell you Abby’s story.

It was one of the worst cases of neglect the police officer had ever seen. The children were covered in grime, clearly malnourished and sleeping on filthy pallets on the floor. The house had no running water and roaches infested the kitchen. There were visible scratches, bruises and burns on the children’s bodies. This wasn’t the first time their caregiver had been arrested.

After the children were removed from the home, they arrived at the doors of the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter. They were scared, tired and hungry. We welcomed them with open arms. The Shelter team immediately sprang into action by serving the children a hot meal, giving each child a bath, providing them with clean clothing and beginning treatment for rashes, burns and lice. Abby was the oldest child living in the home — a young girl of less than seven years. Confused and extremely angry, she lashed out at the Shelter team because she had never trusted an adult in her life. She didn’t know how to react when we tried to care for her. She had been deprived of the love and affection of a family.

With patience and guidance from the Shelter team, Abby learned how to better handle her anger and frustration. She learned how to use kind words and how to depend on the adults around her to meet her needs. Most importantly, she learned that, for the first time in her life, she had people who truly cared for her.

Now, Abby has discovered the joys of childhood.

She loves stuffed animals. She loves talking about kittens. She loves drawing pictures for her teacher. On a recent visit to Chick-fil-A, she was so excited about eating in a “real” restaurant and even more excited about joining the other children in the play area. In our care, Abby learned how to laugh and have fun. Her laugh is so infectious, it can turn a bad day into a great one!

Abby is just one of the more than 10,000 children in Arkansas who experienced abuse or neglect last year. For the past 5 years, Washington County has ranked #2 and Benton County #3 for substantiated cases of child abuse. Yes, child abuse is very real and, yes, it is happening in OUR community.

The Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter serves as the first point of refuge for children from throughout Arkansas who have suffered the trauma of abuse or neglect. Here, they are safe, loved and given the opportunity to just be kids again.

We need your help to combat the effects of abuse and neglect on our kids. Your gift to the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter not only provides a warm bed and three meals per day, but also the opportunity for children like Abby to begin the process of healing. Help our children to know that they are loved with your gift.

See our needs list or donate today!

Due to a rough childhood, I had lost all hope in life. The Shelter changed my life for the better. I’ve been given opportunities I never, ever thought I could get in life.”

Rhiannon, age 17

The staff treated me as if I were their family. They were always there for me and always reminded me of my worth.

Kiyasha, age 15

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

Kyle, age 9