Women will dress in colorful costumes for a potluck feast, drumming, blessings, an auction and dancing at the Goddess Gala on Tuesday, April 18 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Basin Park Hotel Ballroom. The annual event, back after a three-year pandemic hiatus, has the same mission as always – supporting the Grandma’s House Children’s Advocacy Center that provides services for child abuse victims in seven counties, including Carroll.
Kaleigh Evans, community development coordinator for Grandma’s House, often gives presentations to local groups about the services offered. At times she is asked why Grandma’s House is needed here.
“Many people think child abuse doesn’t happen anymore,” Evans said. “There is a lack of recognition about physical and sexual child abuse. I tell them I would love to not have this job. But it is a very real problem. I think it has been going on since the beginning of time and will probably continue. It’s a problem here and across the nation. Children’s Advocacy Centers are doing a fantastic job of reaching out to schools with preventative education for children from pre-school through high school. Preventative education is everything.”
Evans said 90 percent of the time, the abuser is someone the child knows incredibly well. Evans said they educate children to know who are safe adults, and to not keep secrets. Often an abuser will tell a child, “This is our little secret.”
“Grownups do not need to be asking children to keep secrets,” Evans said. “We work to empower children to let them know they are in control of their own bodies and they get to say, ‘No’. Think about it. It is hard for a little one to say ‘no’ to an adult, especially one they are very comfortable with.”
Grandma’s House works with a multi-disciplinary team of 15 people including prosecuting attorneys, local, county, and state law enforcement, the Arkansas Department of Human Service (DHS), mental health therapists and medical providers.
“We are a hub for agencies to do child abuse investigations,” Evans said. “The families can bring their children to one of our locations for a very neutral, child-friendly setting. We offer four primary services that are all free for kids from birth to age eighteen. We provide advocacy, forensic interviews, sexual assault exams that are pediatric specialized, and trauma-focused therapy. Children are screened for a variety of abuses from sexual to emotional, psychological, and physical abuse. The caregiver might think the child was just physically abused, but we screen for everything else to make sure we are covering all the bases.
“Every person is led to do this,” Evans continued. “But it is hard to go home and be a wife, sister or mother after seeing how some children have been treated.”
Trained therapists handle interviews, and that information is turned over to law enforcement.
Grandma’s House is not associated with DHS.
“People get us confused with DHS,” Evans said. “We do not remove children from their homes or keep them overnight. We work solely with non-offending caregivers for appointments that usually last about ninety minutes per child. We provide medical exams from head to toe, and make sure their heart rate and oxygen levels are good. For sex abuse victims, we do genital exams to make sure the child has healed, and we provide sexually transmitted disease testing.”
The program that began in 2010 now has four locations – Berryville, Harrison, Mountain Home and Huntsville.
“We cover the square footage of Rhode Island,” Evans said. “In 2020 and 2021, we served about 500 children. It did slow down a little last year when we served 350 children. Looking at where we are this year, we are going to surpass the 350 number. Statistically, we know that only about thirty percent of victims ever come forward. Consistently, about seventy percent of cases come from Carroll, Baxter and Boone counties. The other counties we serve, Madison, Searcy, Marion and Newton, have smaller populations.”
Grandma’s House as a children’s advocacy center was deemed an essential service during the pandemic.
“Being able to provide child abuse victims with free services, including making sure they are safe physically and have access to mental health therapy are both life-saving and life-altering,” Evans said.
She added that the houses are colorful and kid friendly with big, fluffy couches, blankets, stuffed animals, drinks and food.
“It is not a sterile, scary environment like a police station or an emergency room,” she said. “It helps children and their caregivers relax enough to talk to us honestly. Caregivers who come in are often very stressed, scared, angry or frustrated that they don’t know everything going on. We meet people where they are, and walk them through our process.”
Grandma’s House is funded through grants and donations, and doesn’t receive any government funding. Evans said that is why they are so grateful to everyone who attends and donates items for the auction at the Goddess Gala.
“The community of Eureka always does a fantastic job of supporting us and The Merlin Foundation,” Evans said.
Goddess Gala tickets are available at the door for $20. Advance tickets are $15. For more information, visit the Eureka Springs Goddess Gala page on Facebook or grandmashousecac.com.