Pine Bluff’s CASA Women’s Shelter was dedicated Thursday morning with words of praise for a community that dared to “dream big” and reach out to help those in need.
The center was the recipient of a $3.6 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation for construction of the new 14,265 square foot facility.
“This is a special day … we’ve waited a long time for,” Karen Palmer, the center’s executive director, told the large crowd that turned out for the dedication and tours of the facility.
Ground was broken in August and the center will be occupied before June 1, Dr. Simmie Armstrong Jr., president of the CASA board of directors, noted. The facility, he added, is a “milestone in the city of Pine Bluff” with volunteers defying the naysayers.
Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. noted the land at 1113 State St. was donated to the city by the Buster Simpson family for a police station, but the family agreed to the use for a shelter for abused and battered women.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The steering committee, headed by Tommy May, chairman and CEO of Simmons First National Bank, worked tirelessly to raise more than $700,000 to match the Reynolds grant to build, equip and furnish the shelter, Redus added.
“This is an example of what can be accomplished when we work in one direction,” he said.
Domestic violence is a “serious matter in this country and abuse can happen to anyone … yet the problem is often overlooked, excused or denied,” with 40 to 60 percent of the calls Pine Bluff police receive on the night shift attributed to domestic abuse, the mayor emphasized.
Jefferson County Judge Mike Holcomb said the shelter is a “place of refuge” that scores of volunteers and local governments accomplished by working together.
Steve Anderson, president of the Reynolds Foundation’s board of trustees, said the trustees decided in 2001 to direct “special attention to the critical needs of women and children in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Nevada,” three states where Reynolds had owned newspapers, including The Commercial.
“Today, this new shelter represents a hopeful opportunity to improve the quality of life for abused and homeless women and their children,” Anderson told the volunteers.
As a result of the initiative, the foundation has granted more than $23 million to improve shelter programs.
In addition to the capital grant, CASA in 2007 received a $75,000 planning grant from the foundation.
The new building will double the available bed space and will include a two-chair beauty salon, Palmer said. Support services will also double, she added, and will include a planned support group for teens, a growing segment of the female population experiencing domestic violence.
She said a state-of-the-art security system was included in the project.
There is no state funding for CASA, Palmer said, and the center’s operation depends entirely on grants and donations from groups and individuals — many of whom are “the wonderful, generous people of Pine Bluff.”
The center is staffed around the clock and the crisis line (870-535-0287) is answered by “a trained, live person 24/7.”
CASA Inc. (Committee Against Spouse Abuse), a private non-profit organization established to provide services to battered women and their children, was organized in 1980 in response to a demonstrated need in the community.
The Junior League of Pine Bluff funded CASA in June 1982 and the first shelter officially opened in July of that year. One staff member was hired and a handful of volunteers were furnished to the agency by the Junior League, with a rented facility offering food, shelter, security, and clothing to victims of domestic violence and their children.
In November of 1984, due to the reputation of the program, increased services, and with funding from the First Presbyterian Church, CASA was able to purchase a facility to provided increased space for the growing program.
CASA was able to purchase a larger facility in August 1990 and it was enlarged in 1994 to meet the growing demand.