Crisis center and food bank team up to support families facing violence, food insecurity

Oct. 7—In times of crisis, unmet needs can trigger a cycle of trauma, impacting families for generations. The lack of food, housing and other essentials can also create barriers to domestic violence survivors seeking to reestablish their lives.

A study published in "Public Health Nutrition" found "higher odds of intimate partner violence among those reporting more severe food insecurity" and those escaping abusive situations often "lack the ability to acquire food because they are unable to afford it due to their tenuous financial status."

"Money is a stressor for violence. If you don't have money, you're probably food insecure," said Penni Burns, CEO of the Donald W. Reynolds Crisis Intervention Center in Fort Smith.

In Arkansas, 40.8% of women and 34.8% of men will "experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes," according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

About 95% of the time, the Crisis Intervention Center is at capacity, Burns said. The increased need echoes an 8% increase in domestic violence incidents across the United States during the pandemic, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.

"In a six-month period, mid-first year of the pandemic, we saw an over 200% increase in hotline calls," Burns said.

Through the center's services and emergency safe shelter, families can find security with a roof over their heads and meals provided by the River Valley Regional Food Bank.

The Crisis Intervention Center has been a member of the food bank since 2007. The partnership between the two organizations provided more than 20,000 meals to families served by the shelter during 2020.

"They also provide USDA mandated foods for children that are using the daycare," Burns said. "We don't have to worry about the product we're getting or if it's the right amount of proteins or carbs. We can get almost everything we need in bulk from the food bank."

The food bank also passes on non-food items it receives to the crisis center which helps families to have a greater sense of stability.

After the food bank was given a donation of pillows, they contacted the center, which just happened to need new bedding for the shelter.

When the center picked up the donation, "I mentioned that it was like a little god-wink because the exact amount of pillows she needed was the exact amount of the donation," said Tracy Engel, director of the food bank.

Through the food bank, the Crisis Intervention Center has also received women's pajamas, pots, pans and other household items.

These donations are vital because the families "are starting new lives with nothing, and this is at least something to give them a start," Engel said. "If we get more than 10 to 12 of these items, we will always call the crisis center because we know there's a need there."

The connection between the Crisis Intervention Center and the food bank represents one of many ways domestic violence prevention and the fight against hunger are linked.

While the center does not track food insecurity due to providing all meals for its clients, counselors evaluate families for adverse childhood experiences.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines adverse childhood experiences as "potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood" which can result in toxic stress and "can change brain development and affect how the body responds to stress."

Adverse childhood experiences include abuse, neglect and living in a household with substance misuse or mental health problems.

"Adverse childhood experiences have been statistically proven to lower graduation rates, higher incarceration rates, higher recidivism rates, higher cycle of violence rates," Burns said. "Some of that same data is also similar to the data of people who are coming in and out of the cycle of violence multiple times.

"It's very similar to the poverty cycle and things like that, where there are patterns and statistics that show how hard it is to come out of something, even when there are resources available."

By providing support, safety and security for families in crisis, the center and food bank aim to break the cycles of violence and poverty to promote thriving and well-being.

Even with the increased number of families in need and the concerns about spreading COVID-19, the staff has been able to keep the emergency shelter fully operational.

With precautions like social distancing, Burns said, "We're pretty proud of the fact that our services stayed 100% intact during the pandemic."

As October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Burns encourages community members to "if you see something, say something."

"We're not just a domestic violence shelter. We're a family violence center, we're a sexual assault center, we're a therapy center, we're a childcare center, we have an education and prevention office, we have full case management, so we're really seven or eight businesses in one. We're also a suicide hotline."

"If you don't know where to send someone that's in any type of crisis, our crisis hotline operates 24 hours a day, and we have a very large resource databank," she said. "If we can't help internally, we'll get you to the place that can."

The crisis hotline can be reached at 1-800-359-0056.

Catherine Nolte is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. She can be reached at cnolte@swtimes.com. Southwest Times Record and Report for America are working to place a new generation of journalists in community news organizations across the country. Will you support this effort today?

___

(c)2021 Times Record (Fort Smith, Ark.)

Visit Times Record (Fort Smith, Ark.) at www.swtimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.