The Safe Place, Inc., a non-profit corporation located in Conway County, Ark., began in 1994 when a group of concerned individuals recognized the need of a shelter for battered and abused women and their children. Conway County was suffering from an average of 1.5 deaths per year due to domestic violence. This group formed a task force and The Safe Place, Inc., was established in December of 1994 and opened in May of 1995. This has proven to be a very wise and beneficial endeavor as we are proud but cautious to say that to date, our county has not suffered another death due to domestic violence.
We have reached across county lines to serve the domestic violence victims of Perry County, Arkansas since the very beginning. But we have had a heart to do more – we wanted to offer resources and services and have a local presence. So in October of 2018, we opened a satellite office in Perryville in Perry County where available resources are close at hand, Advocates can quickly respond and offer assistance with Orders of Protection and positively impact this community.
Since we opened in 1995, approximately 22,500 victims, male and female, of domestic violence have been served through the many services of our program. As a domestic violence program, we provide hotline and personal crisis intervention/counseling; immediate safe shelter, food, clothing, group for primary and secondary victims, transportation, hospital and doctor accompaniment, emergency legal advocacy such as filing an Order of Protection and court attendance, parenting and life skills classes, public awareness and educational presentations for prevention, assists with relocating, out reach follow up, and many other emergency and advocacy services.
The total program is operated with the Board of Directors establishing policy and procedure. The day-to-day victim direct services are provided by six full-time and one part-time employee with two to four volunteers, all supervised by the Executive Director.
