ASH FLAT Ash Flat nonprofit: Domestic-violence services still available

By Amy Widner

LITTLE ROCK — Domestic violence has historically been one of the most invisible crimes in communities. That may be slowly changing, but providing services to victims is just as important as ever, Larry Morris said.

Morris is president of the nonprofit organization Spring River Adult/Child Services, which replaced another domestic-violence treatment and education organization in 2005. The organization serves northeast Arkansas, focusing their efforts on rural areasin Sharp and Fulton counties. SACS' activities are funded by a thrift store in Highland of the same name. But, confusingly, the thrift store had the name before the nonprofit, and many residents think domestic-abuse services in their area died with the previous organization.

Morris said that while people are familiar with the thrift store, he still gets questions like, "What do you guys do besides the thrift store?"

"Name recognition is probably the biggest obstacle for us to overcome right now," Morris said. "We've gotgreat relationships with the judges, county clerks, police departments, but we kind of changed horses in the middle of the stream with the name,and now we've just got to catch up with that name change."

Morris said it was important for SACS to carry on the mission left behind by the previous organization, the Ozark Family Development Center, (with which he was also involved) because domestic violence is still a very real problem.

"When it started off it was kind of rough because people just didn't talk about it or think it existed in our area," Morris said. "That's one of those things that was just swept under the carpet for years - the kind of thing people say, 'We just don't have that here.' We've gone from an era of a well-wedon't-have-it-here attitude to, 'We do, and maybe we should do something about it.' We've seen the attitude change. Now we would like to see the thing behind it all eliminated."

As funding allows, SACS provides the following free services: a 24-hour crisis hotline; temporary shelter for individuals whose lives are at risk; advocacy and peer counseling (individual and group) for victims; legal advocacy, including assistance with Orders of Protection; medical advocacy; community outreach and education about domestic violence, abuse and sexual assault; referrals for legal, medical, mental health, education, employment, housing, food and clothing; parenting and job-skills education; children's advocacy; follow-up services; and serving as a liaison to other state and local domestic violence organizations.

SACS executive director Lynne Barber said the crisis hotline is one of the organization's most valuable tools.

"Most victims aren't sure if they're ready to leave the situation," Barber said. "Oftentimes it's that middle-of-the-night-I-can't-sleep urge that leads people to call us. They can call and talk to someone and not disclose who they are or feel pressured to make a decision at that time."

SACS has strong relationships with area law enforcement and can engage their help if the person requests it, Barber said. All of their services are confidential and at their choice.

Barber said that in addition to spreading awareness about SACS, she is looking for more volunteers and wants to emphasize that the organization's services are available for a variety of different people.

"Another focus that I want the public to understand is that the services we provide are not just for females who are victims of intimate abuse," Barber said. "We work with victims of family violence, and we work with secondary victims - for example, somebody who tried to help a victim and found themselves the victim, or say, the elderly person who might have an adult child who is abusing them. We want to be a resource for those individuals as well.

"Even if they are aware of our agency, they think it's for women being battered by their husbands. So we want to get the word out that, nope, we're for everybody."

In 2007 SACS served 92 adults and 110 children who were under legal Orders of Protection. They provided other services to an estimated 494 people. So far in 2008 the organization has served 76 adults and 84 children under Orders of Protection and has provided other services to an estimated 795 people, Barber said.

The SACS board is made up of individuals from Sharp and Fulton counties: President Larry Morris, Vice President Debi Zeiger, Secretary Barbara Lyerly, Treasurer Dawn Scarbrough, Mary Ann Jagow, Jana Morris, Robert Zeiger, Ken Anderson, Avondale Street, Ann Micheal, Scott Goodwin and Lloyd Hefley.

SACS operates with three full-time employees, one parttime employee, one Experience Works employee (a seniorcitizen program that pays the individual's salary so they can get on-the-job training) and a backup employee who fills in as needed.

SACS is working on an upcoming program for grandparents with the University of Arkansas Sharp County Cooperative Extension Service. Adventures in Grandparenting is a 12-week program intended to bring together area grandparents who are caring for grandchildren. The program is planned to start Thursday, Nov. 6.

The organization will hold their annual chili cook-off in late October or early November and plan to have a program or candlelight vigil to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.

The thrift store is at 1638 U.S. 62/412 in a shopping plaza to the rear of A to Z Printing and is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Theoutreach office is in the United Methodist Church building at 24 Church St., Ash Flat, and is open 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Donors should call the thrift store before dropping off donations. The 24-hour crisis hotline/office phone number is(870) 994-2551. The fax number is (870) 994-2553. The SACS Thrift Store number is (870) 856-4119.

More information is available at ozark000@centurytel.net.

- awidner@ arkansasonline.comDomestic violence shelters in the Three Rivers coverage area:

◊Safe Passage P.O. Box 755 Melbourne, AR 72556 Lorri Rorie, director

Phone: 870-258-7777 Fax: 870-258-7770 Hotline: 870-258-7777 E-mail: Safepassage72556@yahoo.com

◊Family Violence Prevention and Rape Crisis Center

(S.A.I.L.)

P.O. Box 2943

Batesville, AR 72503

Phone: 870-793-4011, 870-692-0006 (Rape Crisis Center.)

Fax: 870-793-2788

Hotline: 870-793-8111, Toll free: 800-894-8821

E-mail: fvp2943@sbcglobal.net Web: www.preventionfamilyviolence.org

◊Stone County Abuse Prevention, Inc.

P. O. Box 689 Mountain View, AR 72560 Cyndee Thomas, director

Phone: 870-269-9941 Fax: 870-269-9942 Hotline: 870-269-4888 E-mail: scap@mvtel.net

◊White River Battered Women's Shelter P. O. Box 303 Newport, AR 72112 Barb Halley, director

Phone: 870-523-5403 Fax: 870-523-5403 Hotline: 870-523-5000 E-mail: wrbws@hotmail.com

◊Margie's Haven House

P.O. Box 954

Heber Springs, AR 72543

Phone: 501-362-6757

Fax: 501-362-7370

Hotline: 501-362-6757 E-mail: admin.mhhi@suddenlinkmail.com

Web: www.margieshavenhouse.org

◊White County Domestic Violence Prevention P.O. Box 1196 Searcy, AR 72143-1196 Kaye Candlish, director

Phone: 501-278-5130 Fax: 501-278-5829 Hotline: 501-278-4673, Clients call collect E-mail: wcdvp@sbcglobal.net

◊Lonoke County Safe Haven

P.O. Box 414

Cabot, AR 72023

Brenda Reynolds, director

Phone: 501-941-0899, outreach office - 501-941-0130 Fax: 501-941-0899 Outreach fax - 501-941-0130 Hotline: 501-941-4357 E-mail: director@lcsh.org Web: www.lcsh.org - From the Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence at www.domesticpeace.com

Three Rivers, Pages 53, 54 on 08/28/2008