If your child has experienced abuse or has been exposed to violence, the staff of Safe Places can help.
Our organization Incorporated in Arkansas in 2002 as The Center for Healing and Hope with the following mission and vision:
Supportive Services for the Persons in a Child's Life
Our mission focuses on creating safe homes, safe schools and safe communities in which children and youth can grow and thrive.
In order to accomplish safety, protection and well-being for our community's children, we know that we must also work with a child's "influencers."
With this goal in mind, we also work with the families and/or caregivers of the children in our programs, as well as other adults who are a part of the child's circle of influence. those individuals may be teachers, counselors, clergy, neighbors, extended family members, case workers, probation officers, school counselors, youth leaders, mentors . . .any person who has a place in the child's world.
We provide assistance to any person that is concerned with the best interest of the children and young people who are our clients.
Our staff includes individuals with years of experience in working wth victims of domestic and sexual violence, child abuse and other forms of violence. Staff have specialized expertise in counseling, trauma therapy, pastoral care, support group facilitation, criminal justice advocacy and the mental health issues that sometimes affect victims of violence.
Kathy Manis Findley, CVAP-A, CTS, serves as Executive Director. She is a graduate of the U.S. Department of Justice National Victim Assistance Academy. She is a certified trauma specialist and holds advanced certification in victim assistance from the Jount Center on VIolence and Victim Studies. She is trained as a child forensic interviewer through the American Prosecutors Research Institute's National Child Protection Training Center. She is the author of two books, Voices of Our Sisters and The Survivor's Voice: Healing the Invisible Wounds of Violence and Abuse, as well as our recently published curriculum manual for faith communities and clergy, If This Is Not a Place: A Violence Prevention and Intervention Training Curriculum for Communities of Faith and Clergy.
Angela McGraw, CVAP-A, Violence Prevention and Intervention Coordinator, is a 2005 graduate of the U.S. Department of Justice National Victim Assistance Academy and the Advanced Institute on Violence and Victim Studies at Washburn University in Topeka Kansas. She is currently completing requirements for a degree in Victim/Survivor Services from Washburn. She is an experienced domestic violence advocate with extensive knowledge of issues related to domestic and sexual violence, as well as child protection. She provides violence prevention education through our Transforming Anger, Seeing Red, Quit It! and Expect Respect Programs, and also provides advocacy and support for victims of violence. She recently completed certification as an expert witness in domestic violence cases from the University of Texas School of Law.
Lisette Yang holds degrees in the field of public relations, communication and graphic design, and is a graduate of the Arkansas Victim Assistance Academy. She serves as our Latino Outreach Coordinator, and is involved with many Latino families who have experienced victimization. She provides an extremely valuable component of our program, and is in high demand for providing advocacy services to non-English speaking persons in our community. Lisette has a full case load, receiving referrals from a variety of agencies including local law enforcement and medical facilities, the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Children and Family Services, and the Mexican Consulate..Lisette is also an experienced translator and is responsible for our curriculum, brochures, and other materials being available for non-English speaking families.
