Beyond the Ribbon Cutting

What Comes Next for the Family Peace Center 

By Angela McGraw, CEO, Women & Children First

There are moments in the life of an organization that feel bigger than a building, bigger than a ceremony and bigger than a ribbon stretched across a doorway.

May 28 was one of those moments.

As I stood with our board members, staff, donors, partners, volunteers, advocates and friends to cut the ribbon on the Forest of Hope Family Peace Center, I felt the weight of nearly 50 years of Women & Children First history.

I thought about the first crisis calls answered in the middle of the night.

I thought about the mothers who arrived at our door with their children, often carrying nothing but fear, exhaustion and hope.

I thought about the children who finally slept in a safe place.

I thought about every advocate who has sat beside a survivor and said, “You are not alone. We are here.”

And I thought about every person in our community who believed Arkansas could do better for survivors of domestic violence.

The ribbon cutting was a beautiful and historic day. But it was not the finish line.

It was the beginning of what comes next.

A Moment Years in the Making

For nearly 50 years, Women & Children First has provided safety, strength and hope for people experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault and family violence. We have helped survivors find emergency shelter, file orders of protection, access counseling, enroll children in school, rebuild independence and take the next step toward a life free from violence.

We have also seen how hard the current system can be.

Leaving an abusive relationship is not one decision. It is often a series of terrifying, complicated steps. A survivor may need legal help, counseling, shelter, transportation, medical care, support for her children, help replacing documents, housing resources, job assistance and more.

Too often, those services are spread across different offices, agencies and appointments.

That means a survivor may have to retell the most painful parts of her story again and again. She may have to find transportation across town. She may have to take time off work, arrange childcare or choose which urgent need to handle first.

Every barrier matters. Every delay matters.

Every time the system becomes too hard to navigate, a survivor may feel like going back is the only option.

The Forest of Hope Family Peace Center was created to change that.

One Place. One Story. One Future.

The Family Peace Center brings critical services together in one safe place. Instead of asking survivors to move through a difficult system alone, we are building a coordinated model of care where advocates and partner agencies work together around the survivor’s needs.

That is the promise behind our campaign message:

One Place. One Story. One Future.

• One place where help is easier to access.
• One story told one time, instead of over and over.
• One future where survivors and children have a safer path forward.

This is not just a new facility. It is a new way for Arkansas to respond to domestic violence.

At the ribbon cutting, we celebrated the building. But what we were really celebrating was what the building makes possible.

– A mother finding legal support without having to cross town.

– A child receiving care in a place designed with healing in mind.

– A survivor meeting with an advocate who can help her understand her options.

– A family being connected to safety, counseling, housing and hope without having to figure it all out alone.

What Survivors Teach Us

At Women & Children First, survivors are at the heart of everything we do. They are the reason this work matters. They are also some of our greatest teachers.

One survivor shared:

“Women and Children First has not only given me and my children a safe place to stay, they have showed me how to depend on myself for my own happiness. I have been afraid to live my life for many years but now Women and Children First has changed my outlook on life. I know my self-worth and I will not settle for anything but the best for my children and I.”

That is what safety can make possible.

Not just a bed for the night.

Not just a locked door.

Not just a place to rest.

Safety can be the beginning of self-worth. It can be the first quiet moment when someone starts to believe life can be different. It can be the beginning of healing for a parent and a child. It can be the first step toward breaking a cycle that may have lasted for generations.

That is why the Family Peace Center matters so deeply.

What Happens Next

After the ribbon was cut and the photos were taken, the work continued.

Throughout June and July, our team and partners are focused on preparing the Family Peace Center for its public opening. Final details are being completed inside the building. Staff are preparing spaces and systems. Partner agencies are preparing to work together in this new model.

This phase may not be as visible as a ribbon cutting, but it is incredibly important.

A Family Peace Center is not successful simply because agencies share a building. It works because people are coordinated, trained and ready to respond with compassion. It works because survivors are not passed from one office to another. It works because the people around them understand that trauma, safety and dignity must guide every interaction.

We are taking this time to prepare carefully because survivors deserve more than a grand opening.

They deserve a center that is ready to serve them well.

Why the Public Opening Is the Next Major Milestone

The public opening will be the next major milestone because it marks the moment this vision becomes fully available to the people it was built to serve.

• It will be the moment when Arkansas’s first Family Peace Center begins offering a safer, faster and more coordinated path to help.
• It will be the moment when this community’s generosity becomes direct service.
• It will be the moment when survivors can walk through the doors and find not just one program, but a network of support ready to help them move forward.

For Women & Children First, the public opening is also a promise.

A promise to keep listening to survivors.

A promise to keep strengthening partnerships.

A promise to keep educating the public.

A promise to keep showing up, 24 hours a day, for people who need safety, strength and hope.

This Is a Community Solution

Domestic violence does not happen in isolation. It affects families, children, workplaces, schools, healthcare systems, courts and neighborhoods. That means the solution must involve all of us.

When survivors can get help sooner, children are safer. When families can begin healing, communities grow stronger. When agencies work together, lives can be saved.

The Family Peace Center is not only a milestone for Women & Children First. It is a milestone for Arkansas.

It says we believe survivors should not have to navigate crisis alone.

It says children deserve safety and healing.

It says our community is willing to come together in a new way.

How You Can Be Part of What Comes Next

As we move toward the public opening, we invite you to stay connected and involved.

• Share the Hotline Number with someone who may need it: 800-332-4443.
• Talk about the Family Peace Center with your friends, workplace, church or civic group.
• Support Women & Children First through a donation, volunteer service or community partnership.

And most of all, help us remind survivors of this truth:

You do not have to be ready to leave to reach out.
You do not have to know exactly what to say.
You do not have to have all the answers.
You are not alone.

Just the Beginning

May 28 was a day filled with gratitude, pride and hope. We will always remember it.

But the ribbon cutting was just the beginning.

Now, we prepare to open the doors. We prepare to welcome partners. We prepare to serve more survivors, more children and more families in a safer, stronger and more coordinated way.

For nearly 50 years, Women & Children First has stood for safety, strength and hope. The Forest of Hope Family Peace Center allows us to carry that mission into the future.

One Place. One Story. One Future.

And together, we are just getting started.