Meet Richie

Richie* came into foster care after his school reported that his attendance was irregular. When he did attend school, his homework wasn’t finished, his clothes were dirty and he was very hungry. Upon further investigation, it was found that Richie’s mother was struggling with addiction and was unable to care for him. He was unsupervised the majority of the time and came and went from home and school whenever he liked. 

He was only 9 years old. 

Richie is now in the care of the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter where he receives three meals per day, a safe, warm place to sleep, counseling, medical and dental services and a caring staff who are available 24 hours per day to meet his needs. He attends school on-site at Horizon Academy where he receives individualized instruction to help make up for years of educational neglect. 

Richie loves being outside, listening to music and playing video games. His favorite food is chicken fingers and he has a smile that lights up the room.

While the search continues for a foster family for Richie, the Shelter is here to care for him and help him heal from the trauma he has endured. Our team is available, 24-hours per day, 365 days per year for the children who need us the most. 

*name and image changed to protect the privacy of the youth in our care

Meet Danita

Danita* struggled academically when she first arrived at the Shelter. Originally in care because of neglect and parental drug use, Danita had bounced from school to school, never finding consistency. Through observation and gentle questioning, her case manager discovered that her poor eyesight was a major hindrance to her academic success. Once we arranged a visit to the optometrist and she received her new glasses, her school work and class participation immediately improved. Danita is our most voracious reader – she’s often seen reading a book during lunch, dinner, quiet time, etc. Danita has now been with us for more than six months. In a recent student-led conference, her teachers and the youth care staff praised her for her behavior, leadership and initiative. Unused to hearing positive affirmation and praise, Danita broke down in tears and said, “I wish my mom could hear all of the good things you guys say about me.”

*name and image changed to protect the privacy of the youth in our care

Meet Alvaro

Alvaro* came into the care of the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter after enduring trafficking and exploitation. Throughout his life, he was used for labor and moved around as a commodity – never being treated or loved as a child.

On a recent shopping trip to pick up a few necessities, Alvaro stopped short when he saw an aisle filled with toys. “I never had toys growing up,” he shared. “What I earned went to pay the bills and rent.” He hesitated, feeling silly for wanting a stuffed animal as a 17 year old, but his case manager encouraged him to pick one out. Finally, for the first time in his life he had a toy that he could call his own.

*name and image changed to protect the privacy of the youth in our care

Meet Cameron

Along with meeting each child’s immediate needs of shelter, food and clothing, the case managers at NWACS ensure that all medical, dental, vision and hearing needs are addressed. Cameron* has had trouble with his hearing for his entire life. No one, in 16 years, took the time to listen and understand how significant the hearing loss was and how it was affecting him socially and academically – until he arrived at the Shelter. His case manager organized a plan for treatment, worked closely with a local ENT and arranged to get him the hearing aids he so desperately needed.

On the day he received his hearing aids, a whole new world opened up for Cameron. On his way back to the Shelter, he was amazed by what he could hear: “I can hear the car blinker. I can hear the birds. I can hear my heartbeat!”

*name and image changed to protect the privacy of the youth in our care

Meet AJ

When AJ* came to the Shelter, his teeth had so much build-up and decay that we couldn’t actually see the majority of his front teeth – just brown tartar and plaque. He actually broke a tooth in half while eating lunch and we took him for an emergency dental appointment that same day. He was prescribed antibiotics for infection and we were told that he needed extensive dental treatment. His case manager worked tirelessly to schedule the many appointments and arrange for transportation to each one. Six root canals, two extractions, and multiple fillings and crowns later, AJ has a smile that he can be proud of.

*name and image changed to protect the privacy of the youth in our care

Meet Laney

Laney* came to the Shelter after experiencing years of neglect by her mother. She didn’t smile much when she first arrived, and after a few days 7-year-old Laney confided that her teeth hurt. She revealed that she had never visited the dentist and upon further examination we could clearly see numerous holes, decay, broken teeth and gum discoloration. Her case manager scheduled an emergency dental appointment for that day, where she discovered that Laney would need many subsequent appointments. She worked quickly to ensure that Laney could receive treatment before she left the care of the Shelter.  These types of stories are unfortunately common and many of our youth require multiple trips to the dentist, specialty physicians, eye doctors, and primary health clinics. After just a few appointments, Laney’s smile emerged and her confidence soared!

*name changed to protect the privacy of the youth in our care

Meet Seth

Seth* had a tough beginning in life. His mother was not someone who could be trusted or relied upon. Because of her own struggles with drug abuse and mental health, she couldn’t provide the very basics of care for Seth. As a young child, Seth was raised, off and on, by his grandparents. However, when they passed away, he was forced to return to his mother’s care.

Frightened and alone, doing what he could to survive without any support at home, Seth found himself in a downward spiral.

That’s when he arrived at the Shelter. When Seth walked through the doors of the Shelter, he was scared, angry and withdrawn. He kept his hood up and wasn’t comfortable with eye contact, personal communication or any acts of love or affection.

He wasn’t used to being surrounded by adults focused on meeting his needs. He had raised himself for most of his life. Within the safety of the Shelter, he had to learn how to trust.

While at the Shelter, Seth was able to recover his high school credits and graduate on schedule. He learned many new life skills, such as laundry, cooking, cleaning and money management. He is currently living independently, enjoying a new job and looking forward to starting college in the spring. His future is much brighter because of the care he received at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter.

*name and image changed to protect privacy

Meet Wesley

“I love it here. I don’t want to be anywhere else. This is the best place I’ve ever been.”

The sentiment above was recently shared by a 14-year-old named Wesley*. At first, we were thrilled to hear it. We were so glad that he felt safe and comfortable here at the Shelter. That means that we’re doing our job well. That means that we’re fulfilling our mission.

Right?

But then, as what he said began to sink in, it actually made us very sad. Shouldn’t this young man want to be in a home? Shouldn’t he want to be part of a family? So, why, out of all the places he has been, does he want to be here?

His understanding of home and family is so much different than ours. A home, to him, means conflict and struggle.  It means constantly being hyper aware and ready to fight or flee at any moment. It means feeling alone and frightened, but never being able to show fear or weakness. It means growing up way too fast.

At the Shelter, Wesley is surrounded by people who care about him, 24 hours a day. He has a routine and knows what to expect from day to day. He never has to question whether he will have clean clothing or enough to eat. He knows that his education is important and that his teachers will do everything they can to keep him on track. He knows that we want him to have the best future possible.

We wish every child in Arkansas had a loving, supportive home. We wish we could close the doors of the Shelter forever. Unfortunately, there will always be children like Wesley. To him, the Shelter is more of a family than he has ever known. So, we will keep our doors open, and our arms open even wider, for the children who need us.

*name and image changed to protect privacy

Meet Demonte

Meet Lola

This young lady has been with us for more than two months. When she first arrived, she could only count to 8 and didn’t recognize numbers above 5 by sight. She also only knew about 6 letters and no sounds. She attends school on-site here at the Shelter and is in Ms. Anaiya’s elementary class. By the end of the first quarter of the school year, she can now count to 30 and identifies numbers up to 20 when shown out of sequence. She also knows 24 letters and matching sounds! This sweet girl is overcoming memory issues and a language delay. Her hard work, along with the patience and caring of Ms. Anaiya, have allowed her to make huge progress. We are so proud of her!

*name changed to protect privacy

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!

*name and image changed to protect privacy

Meet Austin

The effects of childhood trauma are vast and unique to each child. In the case of Austin*, an 11-year-old attending Horizon Academy at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter, 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 grade level. As our Education staff worked with Austin, evidence of an undiagnosed learning disability began to reveal itself. He shared with staff that he hated to read and that it triggered his fears. A great deal of his written work was illegible, with misspelled words that were constructed by a mixture of upper and lower case letters of various sizes floating across the page. Writing struggles flowed into math accuracy. Reading struggles flowed across the academic curriculum. As our staff uncovered his academic struggles, the polite, quiet and friendly Austin began to retreat under his ever-present red hoodie and sit with his head on his desk. He would fly into angry outbursts and refused to complete his school work.

Our amazing Education team was not deterred. They recognized Austin’s unlimited potential and let him know with each word and action that he was safe and cared for here at the Shelter. Through the tenets of trauma-informed education, Austin began to believe in himself make progress. When working with a child who has experienced trauma, all the lesson plans, diagnostics, intervention tools and targeted materials of the world are useless if the teacher cannot reach the student. Through the collaborative efforts of our education team, working together with our Youth Care Specialists, Austin has emerged from the hoodie and is actively participating in school activities.

We recognize his small and big successes.
We help him recognize the traumas of his childhood may have placed him where he is today but we hold a caring expectation that giving up, quitting, or hiding is not an option.
We listen to his conversations and discover his interests.
We design and construct targeted learning materials pertaining to his interests.
We helped him overcome his reading fears by providing time for him to listen to teachers read stories of interest. Then we gave him space to independently listen to audio books. He now readily comes to the resource room for reading and writing interventions.

These are just a few of the numerous trauma-informed techniques that have placed Austin on a learning path of success. He has improved his reading assessment to an average fourth grader at the beginning of the year and his math assessment to an average mid-year fourth grade student. More important than test scores, however, he ditched the hoodie, participates in classroom coursework and his handwriting is legible with the accommodation of Redi-Space transitional notebook paper. He is improving his decoding, fluency and comprehension skills as he reads aloud daily. Currently, he is reading and learning elements of real friendship through the book Bridge to Terabithia. Now, if he comes across a word he doesn’t know, his hand automatically reaches for the dictionary. He recognizes his own improvement in his written work as he confidently pointed out, “See how all my letters are on the line and all the letters are the same size?” We are so proud of Austin and his achievements. His next book of choice is Moby Dick!

*name and image changed to protect privacy

Meet Judea

Judea 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, former Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter Case Manager

Meet Sadie

I was taken into the Children’s Shelter at 3:27 a.m.

Due to my past, I was terrified of what I may be walking in to. What if this is the last time I see my brothers? What if I’m completely removed from my “normal” life? I can only imagine what my brothers thought, let alone any other child in the system. This being said, I was shocked walking in to see portraits painted among the walls, a dining room, welcoming staff members … gosh, don’t get me started on how shocked I was to see that we had legit rooms.

They’re decorated! It’s amazing. Here at the Shelter they do their best to make you feel as welcomed and comfortable as possible … Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter has honestly done the best they can do to help me in life. There was never a day that went by that I felt uncared for.

It was very hard adjusting, but I knew I was always okay in their hands.

*name and image changed to protect privacy

Meet Samuel

Samuel* came from an environment of neglect. He didn’t know where his next meal would come from, and he spent much of his young life on the streets.

By the time he arrived at the Children’s Shelter at 16-years old, he’d experienced 26 failed placements, was reading at a second grade level and failure was just a normal part of life.

Upon meeting Samuel, the dedicated team at the Shelter began building trust with him and created an individualized success plan.

He has not only received the care, love and vital services he so desperately needed, but he has thrived. Samuel has made great strides in school. He is working on life skills such as changing the oil in the Shelter vans, assisting with set-up for Shelter events and helping reconcile petty cash in the business office. He’s even opened up a bank account and visited different work environments to discuss career options for his future.

Before the Shelter, Samuel didn’t know home. At the Shelter, he’s found not only a home, but a family.

*name and image changed to protect privacy