By: Alex Altman
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – April is National Child Abuse Awareness Month. Strategic Partnerships Coordinator Peyton Stewman said The Children’s Safety Center of Washington County uses this month to not only spread awareness, but to make people more comfortable talking about the subject.
“We want people to feel comfortable. It’s something that we have to talk about in order to be a part of the solution and that’s all about starting the conversation in April,” said Stewman.
Every year, hundreds of children in Northwest Arkansas are robbed of their dreams, self-esteem, and childhood by physical and sexual abuse. However, Child Advocate Sydney Bright said that the Safety Center provides all the necessary services in order to help the children with anything they may need.
“Those investigators that are assigned to the case will refer the family here for services. For forensic interview, advocacy, medical services, and really just anything that they might be needing,” said Bright.
When a child comes through the Children’s Safety Center, they leave a handprint on the wall representing an emotional story of recovery. There are an estimated 13,000 handprints on the wall and Strategic Partnerships Coordinator Peyton Stewman said these handprints mean everything.
“The handprint is a way for us to bring light and put some fun back into a child’s experience here. They also get to pick their colors and their design,” said Stewman.
Over the course of 2022, 842 children received initial services from the safety center. However, Sydney Bright said that none of that would have been possible without having plenty of resources in the community available to them.
“Here in NWA we have so many great different resources that, as an advocate, I can refer my clients too. Whether that’s housing needs, food banks, anything like that. So we utilize all the different resources in the area,” said Bright.
The Children’s Safety Center looks to help even more kids as they are in the process of building a brand new 15,000-square-foot building in Springdale. The building will be three times larger than their current office and is expected to be completed in July. Bright said she is excited about the location, and the ability to help more kids.
“Having easy access right off the interstate is huge and having the space for our clients is going to be huge. For our MDT members, we just want to be able to provide the best services that we can,” said Bright.
With the new building expected to be completed later this year, both Stewman and Bright urge the community to make donations to support their continuous financial need to support children in Washington County. Below, you can find the different ways to donate.
WAYS TO DONATE
GOODS AND IN-KIND GIFTS: This is a list of several items that can be donated. The Children’s Safety Center goes through these items fast and is constantly in need of more.
- Antibacterial Wipes and Spray
- Plastic Cutlery
- Paper Goods
- Copy Paper
- Cardstock Paper
- Kleenex/Facial Tissue
- Paper Towels
- Toilet Paper
- Coffee K-Cups
AMAZON SMILE: Amazon will donate a portion of eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the Children’s Safety Center. Remember, for the donation to go through, you must create an account and shop on AmazonSmile.
HOST A DONATION DRIVE: As a nonprofit, the center and kids are always in need of donated items. Host a fun donation drive at your work, school, church, or in your neighborhood. Below are a few ideas of what can be asked for in donation drives.
- Individually wrapped drinks and snacks.
- Fidget Spinners or Pop-its.
- Gift Cards for groceries, fast food, and/or gas.
- All sizes of shoes. Especially smaller adult men and women sizes for our teens.
- Stuffed animals.
- Clothes for teen boys and/or girls.
VOLUNTEER: The Children’s Safety Center is always looking for people to volunteer some of their time to help with various events and activities at the safety center.