NWA Disability and Violence Collaborative:
The NWA Disability and Violence Collaborative was formed from an initial meeting in December of 2008. In a few short months we have established a mission and vision statement and worked together to support individuals who experience violence.
Mission Statement
The NWA Disability and Violence Collaborative aims to: reduce the risk of violence against individuals with disabilities; provide community education; encourage community collaborations to promote healthy personal and professional relationships; and support individuals with disabilities who experience violence.
Who are we?
An interdisciplinary collaborative of the disability community, victim services, law enforcement agencies, and prevention education providers.
Our Vision:
The NWA Disability and Violence Collaborative agree that individuals with disabilities have the right to:
• Live their lives free from coercion, intimidation, oppression, exploitation and physical, sexual, emotional or mental harm
• Receive full and comprehensive information to enable them to make informed choices about their own circumstances
• The same protections under the law afforded all citizens of the community
• Have equal access to the judicial process
• Have equal access to victim services
Information Sharing
The programs developing these best practices shall not disclose individuals’ identities and/or specifics about individuals’ circumstances to the collaborating agencies/programs without the written consent of the individual, unless otherwise required to do so by state or federal law.
Links:
Helen Jane Brown
Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault
215 East Ave
Fayetteville
(479) 527-0900
acasa@sbcglobal.net
ACASA’s participation is to help us stay informed as to the issues concerning violence against people with disabilities and local services that are available and to offer assistance when needed.
Angie Albright
Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter
Rogers, AR
(479) 273-5702
angie.bcws@yahoo.com
Our mission is to serve all victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and in order to fulfill that mission completely, we need a better understanding of the needs and issues unique to the community of individuals with disabilities. Fulfilling that mission also requires a close collaboration with other agencies and organizations so that we can offer the full range of services available and appropriate to all individuals.
Eva Rousey
Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter
Bentonville, AR
(479) 273-5702
bcws@cox-internet.com
Carol Tarvin
Adult Protective Services
Washington County DHS
4044 Frontage Rd
Fayetteville, AR 72703
(479) 521-1270 Ext 136
(479) 466-2174 (Cell)
Carol.Tarvin@arkansas.gov
Jim Mather
Sources Inc.
1918 N. Birch
Fayetteville, AR 72703
(479) 442-5600
jmather@arsources.org
The Mission of SOURCES for Community Independent Living Services is to promote the independence of persons with disabilities by facilitating and supporting their full integration and participation in ALL aspects of community life. Participation in the NWA DVC recognizes that violence prevention and victims’ services are vital areas of support necessary to fully include all individuals in our communities.
Shannon Randolph
Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention Agency
Education and Prevention Specialist
shannon@sarpa.us
Jen Carlson
Program Director
Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention Agency
(Benton, Washington, Madison Counties)
589 A. White Road
Springdale, AR 72762
(479) 927-1025
24 HR Hotline 1-800-794-4175
jen@sarpa.us
Sexual Assault Prevention and Recovery Agency is dedicated to serving and empowering all victims of sexual violence, including individuals with disabilities. Partnering with NWA DVC allows SARPA to create and implement best practices within the agency and continually provide better advocacy, through collaboration and education, to individuals with disabilities who are victims of sexual violence.
Maryanne Caldwell
Spinal Cord Commission
4058 N. College Ave
Suite 150
Fayetteville, AR 72703
(479) 582- 1286
mcaldwell@aspinalcord.org
To Provide knowledge in the area of spinal cord injuries as it relates to medical and psychosocial implications and to acquire wisdom in the area of disabilities and crime victims.
Roberta Sick
UAMS Partners for Inclusive Communities
2001 Pershing Circle, Suite 300
N. Little Rock, AR 72114
(501) 682-9900
sickrobertae@uams.edu
Partners for Inclusive Communities at UAMS, Arkansas University Center on Disabilities, began addressing issues of violence and people with disabilities in 1998. One of Partners current efforts is the Victims with Disabilities Expansion Project. This effort works within our state and in local communities, to build a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to improving the criminal justice system's response to violent crimes, and addressing the needs of people with disabilities. The statewide effort is led by a multidisciplinary team of collaborators from both the victim services and disability community. Staff from Partners assisted NW Arkansas agencies in coming together to address these issues. Our present participation in NW Arkansas, consists of providing technical assistance and support as needed, attending the local team meetings, providing training and serving as a liaison between the local team and the statewide effort.
Jessica Bell
Peace at Home Family Shelter
Assistant Program Director
PO BOX 1923
Fayetteville, AR 72702
Work: (479)442-9811
jbell@peaceathomeshelter.com
Our agency believes it is important to be a part of this collaborative because we believe - and work towards this as a goal every day - that everyone has the right to live a life free of violence regardless of their abilities or barriers. This collaborative is in perfect alignment with our agency’s mission: to END domestic violence through support services, prevention, and education. We know we cannot do this all on our own which is why working with other agencies is imperative to this mission!
Tonya Shanks
Life Styles
Case Management Coordinator
2471 W. Sycamore
Fayetteville, AR 72703
ph: 713-7833
fax 713-1677
tshanks@lifestylesinc.org
Life Styles provides support for people who have disabilities, a group at extreme risk. We feel this Collaborative can help us develop the connections with services in the community to improve our preventative education efforts; and ensure that we help people receive the most supportive response possible to incidents of violence/abuse/neglect. Teamwork among community services and law enforcement is vital in that mission.
Jamie R. Van Horn
Sigma Mu of TriEss
Support for Transgender
jamie@jamierenae.com
www.tri-ess.org
www.sigma-mu.org
Involved in educational presentation of Transgender issues
Syard Evans
Director of Education
Arkansas Support Network
6836 Isaac’s Orchard Lane
Springdale, AR 72762
(479) 927-4100
sevans@supports.org
Arkansas Support Network (ASN) is committed to the advocacy, inclusion, and support of individuals with disabilities and recognizes that violence prevention and victims’ services are vital areas of support necessary to fully include all individuals in our communities. ASN is excited to be a part of the NWA DVC and to have so many partners from outside the disability community who are committed to improving the quality of life of all individuals.
Dana Scott
Victim Assistance
280 N. College; Ste 301
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 444-1588
dscott@co.washington.ar.us
Debbie Hawkins
Waiver Coordinator
Elizabeth Richardson Center
(479) 872-4663 x 17
Dhawkins@ERCInc.org