LITTLE ROCK — It all started with an innocent conversation between three friends as they dined in elegance to celebrate New Year's Eve. All was right with the world, but the conversation turned to a serious matter. The women rattled off statistics recently released by the FBI, and the countdown begins: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and, somewhere in America, another woman is beaten before the stroke of midnight.
While merriment surrounds them,a resolution is made for the New Year. Yell County will stand up for women of domestic abuse.
The women, Peggy O'Glee, Martha and Marilyn Forrest, along with Melanie Sawyer and Dottie Williams, formed the Samaritan Outreach Domestic Abuse Program operating in Yell County. The program is affiliated with the Arkansas State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The Yell County program, which has been offering outreach services since the beginning of this month, opened a program-sustaining thrift shop in downtown Dardanelle and plans to open a shelter for women and children in January 2008.
O'Glee said, "At that New Year's Eve dinner, Martha shared that she felt the Lord calling her into women's ministry, but she felt she must leave Arkansas to fulfill that calling. I told her, 'It's the women right here who are battered and beaten that need ministering to.' Fortunately for all of us, Martha agreed and stayed to minister to the women of YellCounty."
O'Glee said in 2005, Arkansas ranked ninth in the nation for domestic deaths and first among blacks. The Arkansas death total that year was 16. In 2006, Arkansas documented 17 deaths occuring because of domestic violence.
This year, O'Glee said, "we already have 23 deaths on the records, and we haven't even hit the holidays yet when we always see an increase in domestic violence."
Fueled by the personal-abuse experiences of several board members, the group of five have worked to complete the steps required to offer credible services. The program has secured private funding, held small fundraisers and obtained a federal grant that covers the salary for three fulltime staff - two victim advocates and an executive director, who will be O'Glee.
Outreach services include legal and medical advocacies, a crisis hotline and increasing community awareness.
Local attorneys and medical personnel have agreed to donate their services in assisting the clients. Volunteers stand with the women and offer strength and comfort so that the victim can free herself of the abuse. Shelters in neighboring counties are offering housing until the doors are open in Yell County. Fort Smith businessman Michael Morton has donated the building to be used as the shelter.
The crisis hotline is in operation 24 hours and can be accessed toll-free from outside Dardanelle. A phone line is also available for Spanish-speaking victims.
Volunteers spread the word in the community by addressing civic and church groups and providing booths at the Yell County Fair and other events. Support groups are forming now, both in English and in Spanish, andwill be held at The Red Door thrift shop, 213 N. Front St., in Dardanelle.
The Red Door is accepting donations of new or gently used clothes and home furnishings and is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The public is invited to volunteer at the store or with the support groups. The "Adopt a Room" project is looking for sponsors to adopt one of the 11 bedrooms or the children's play room. Sponsorships are available to those groups or clubs who would agree to paint, decorate and furnish the rooms. The appointed group is allowed to hang a plaque in the adopted room carrying the club's name or message as in the case of a memorial or honorarium. Financial gifts are always welcome.
For more information, call the crisis line at (479) 229-3300 or toll-free at 1-888-814-8330. To reach a Spanish speaking advocate, call (479) 477-1940.
River Valley Ozark, Pages 73, 77 on 10/25/2007