YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
When Freedom’s Rest Family Violence Center closed suddenly Oct. 1, a news release said the decision stemmed from challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ozark-based shelter had served survivors of domestic and sexual violence since 2004, when it was established as the Christian County Family Crisis Center, according to its LinkedIn page. In its 27 years, it served more than 15,000 survivors and children in an 11-county region.
The challenges, according to the release, include “reduced demand for shelter services in the Ozark area.” It credits several factors for the reduced demand, including “limited access to public transportation, decreased funding and ongoing staffing difficulties in the post-pandemic environment.”
The closure comes amid a period of high demand for shelter services, according to other officials working in the domestic and sexual violence space. Jared Alexander, executive director of Springfield’s Harmony House domestic violence center, said his agency is seeing a rise in hotline calls and shelter demand, and the Springfield Police Department has made domestic violence its fourth-quarter crime focus for 2023.
Freedom’s Rest President and CEO Matthew Ennis declined an interview for this story but responded to questions via email weeks after the closure. He addressed the news release’s claim of reduced demand for shelter services.
“The majority of survivors who chose to decline seeking shelter at Freedom’s Rest stated that they made this decision due to the lack of public transportation options near the shelter facility,” Ennis said via email, adding that the nearest bus stop within the City Utilities of Springfield public transit system is seven miles from the shelter.
“This is important as, on average, the majority of survivors served by Freedom’s Rest originated from within the city of Springfield and needed to access resources within the city’s public transportation system regularly,” he said. “While the shelter was able to provide more transportation options in the past, these resources were greatly diminished during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not returned.”
He denied that there is, in fact, reduced demand for shelter services.
“Freedom’s Rest Family Violence Center or its representatives have not made a blanket statement that there is a reduced demand for shelter services by survivors of domestic or sexual violence in Springfield and the surrounding area,” he said.
Statement raised attention
In fact, demand remains high, according to Alexander.
“I do not believe there is a reduced demand for services in our community or even in the nation,” Alexander said via email. “The increased call volume here at Harmony House over the last few years, as well as increase in services provided through the Family Justice Center, would suggest otherwise.”
Alexander said Harmony House answered over 700 more calls in 2022 compared with 2021, and the organization is on track in 2023 to exceed its call volume from last year.
“While those calls are not all shelter requests, they are calls seeking help, safety planning, advice or referrals in the midst of an abusive situation,” Alexander said.
He noted Harmony House answered 2,498 calls in 2021 and 3,273 in 2022, and through early October, 3,255 had been received.
The Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence reports that in 2022, in the 28-county southwest Missouri region, 657 adults and 441 children were provided with shelter for the first time, amounting to 29,416 nights of shelter in the region for adults and 24,926 nights for children.
The need for residential services by 3,677 adults and 2,126 children went unmet in the region in 2022, according to the state coalition.
Missouri has the third-highest rate of domestic violence in the country, after Oklahoma and Kentucky, according to a 2023 report by World Population Review. The report states about 42% of women and 35% of men experience intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence or stalking in the state.
“The need is consistent – the way it’s always been, if not more,” said Sgt. Chris Rasmussen, who leads the SPD domestic violence unit.
There is not enough shelter space to meet the need, he noted.
“More often than not, when officers are calling for that kind of situation, they get told shelters are full,” Alexander said.
He said officers faced with a domestic violence situation must get creative, using the services of the Family Justice Center, hotel rooms and safe houses – all of which require slightly different vetting processes to access.
Alexander said he was shocked when he initially heard Freedom’s Rest had closed.
“The Family Justice Center will pay for cab rides for victims that are looking for transportation,” he said, adding the SPD has referred people to Freedom’s Rest when Harmony House lacked room.
Alexander added that the need remains high, and timing to meet those needs is urgent.
“Rarely do I run into an occasion where it’s easy,” he said of the work to shelter those who have experienced domestic violence.
Challenges outlined
Ennis said the Freedom’s Rest board carefully considered the future of the organization for several years and even voted to close the shelter several times before, including in 2016.
“In late June 2023, the Freedom’s Rest Family Violence Center Board of Directors again voted unanimously to close the organization’s emergency shelter,” he wrote. “This decision was affirmed unanimously by the board of directors during their September 2023 meeting.”
Ennis would not comment on financial matters and instead pointed toward the organization’s Form 990 filings with the Internal Revenue Service.
The most recent filing, from the 2020 tax period, showed revenue of roughly $525,000 against expenses of $489,000. The previous year, the organization operated at a $38,000 loss.
Capacity needs remain
In Webster County, Julie Rideeoutte is working to establish the 3 Sisters Domestic Violence Shelter to expand capacity to house area survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The project is in its early stages, as Rideeoutte researches funding sources and available properties, but she said she wants to open a shelter as soon as she can. Her goal is to provide a rural setting where survivors and their children and pets can also have outdoor space.
“I’m wanting to start out with space for 25 – something small, just to get our feet wet a little bit,” she said. “It’s very healing to be in the country. A lot of these kids that I’ve seen and heard stories on, some of them have never had a yard to play in.”
Rideeoutte volunteers for domestic violence causes, particularly in the Native American community that she is part of. The name 3 Sisters refers to corn, beans and squash, staples of indigenous food and a metaphor for the nourishment she wants to provide for people who have experienced domestic and sexual violence.
It’s an effort she said is particularly important now that capacity is reduced by 61 beds with the closure of Freedom’s Rest in neighboring Christian County.
Rideeoutte acknowledged operating a shelter in a rural area poses challenges, particularly with transportation, and addressing that problem will be essential. OATS Transit is one agency that tries to address transportation needs.
Ennis said the Freedom’s Rest helpline will remain active through the end of the year and will be answered by staff when possible, with an automated option to connect with the National Domestic Violence Hotline, directly available at 800-799-SAFE or by chat online at TheHotline.org.
He declined to disclose how many staff members are being retained and for how long, stating the organization cannot comment on personnel matters.
Ennis said physical assets of Freedom’s Rest are being transferred to other area nonprofit organizations serving those impacted by domestic and sexual violence, among them Sammy’s Window, Dogwood Range and Legal Services of Southern Missouri.
“While we are saddened that the emergency shelter at Freedom’s Rest Family Violence Center has closed, we are encouraged by the response of the community and other agencies to continue to come around survivors of domestic and sexual violence in our region to provide safe shelter and resources for healing,” Ennis said.
Moseley’s Discount Office Products was purchased; Side Chick opened in Branson; and the Springfield franchise store of NoBaked Cookie Dough changed ownership.
