When you first enter the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter, you’re met with two doors. Rebekah Mitchell said one is for the community and stays locked, while the other is for kids seeking, well, shelter.
“Children come through these doors at all hours of the day and night,” Mitchell said. “So we never close. We make sure that we're always open and here for children who need us across the entire state of Arkansas.”
Mitchell is the shelter’s CEO. She said that just because they’re the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter doesn’t mean they’re limited to this region.
“We serve children across the state,” Mitchell said. “So when a child is no longer safe in their home, and they have nowhere else to go, either DHS or state police are able to bring them here. They come through these doors, and oftentimes you can see it in the child—they're scared, they're unsure. They've never been in an environment like this, and so we want to make sure that they feel welcome from the very start.”
The entryway’s walls are covered with children’s drawings. Brightly colored bins sit in this space, too. Some are filled with seemingly random objects like toys and clothing. But others hold packed suitcases. Mitchell explains these containers hold children’s belongings as they enter and leave the shelter.
“So children are coming and going all the time,” Mitchell said. “The goal is for this to be an emergency shelter, so we're their first stop on a journey toward stabilization. And so, yes, these things in bins are what you see here. This is the kiddos’ teddy bear and backpack, as school just started, and a life jacket from the lake. And you know, things that, probably, you and I would bring with us as well, right? Things from everyday life. So it's a snapshot into the world they're coming from. But yes, these are personal belongings. I think it was either here in this bin or here's all the suitcases ready to go. So this child found a foster home, and we're super excited. They're able to take their stuff with them in nice, new suitcases or gently used ones, and that feels really good when they walk through the doors ready to go on that next adventure.”
As Mitchell guides deeper into the shelter, the surroundings remain colorful. A board covered in multicolored handprints is especially eye-catching. These handprints represent the kids who visited the shelter, and many share stories of friendships made there.
“You'll see in the handprints, there are some little bitty handprints when we have babies in our care, all the way up to big, you know, 17-year-olds and everything in between,” Mitchell said. “We serve children ages 0 to 18. We had a lot of teens in our care, a lot of teen mothers with brand new babies. We've also seen an increase in child trafficking cases over the past three years. So these handprints represent children, and they also represent children from all over the state, but also children who have lived all over the world on that journey. They're a really powerful image. When I look at these, there are names and stories behind each handprint. It's a way that children can leave their impact here once they walk back through our doors, hopefully toward a better life.”
JT: Do they walk down the same hallway?
“Yes, they do all the time,” Mitchell said. “And you'll see here, they always make friends while they're here, right? They build those friendships. Sometimes, when they leave, they'll want to make sure that their handprint is next to their friend's handprint. You'll see, like, over there on that wall, they actually drew little colorful pink and blue lines connecting their hands because they wanted to show that friendship even after they were gone.”
The Children’s Shelter is a place where kids can be fully supported in times of crisis. At the shelter, they receive nutritious food, healthcare, and counseling services. There are even dorms and commons for the young people to stay in and make their own. Mitchell said shelter staff takes extra care to provide a comfortable, independent living situation for children who have to spend extended time there.
“Children walk through our doors, and we provide wraparound services to make sure that every child receives the unique and individualized services they need to be set up for success,” Mitchell said. “We have a case manager that works with every child, and that child receives medical care, vision, dental, and therapy services. We look through their academic records. They attend school on-site at Horizon Academy, and especially over the summer, but really year-round, we make sure that one of the most powerful things we can do is let these children be children again—to play, learn, grow, and enjoy all of those things that make childhood so magical."
“So this is artwork from summer camp this year. The kids are back in school now, but you'll see that they did different themes throughout the summer. They did lots of activities on the Olympics, went camping, swam at the lake, did art camp, went to the water park and outdoors, visited the zoo, celebrated the Fourth of July, and they even gave back to our community. It’s a really fun way for children to just have fun, honestly. We love doing lots of learning, but fun activities out in our community so that these children can be exposed to art, culture, the outdoors, and all the things that make our community in northwest Arkansas such a wonderful place to live, right?”
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The authoritative record of KUAF programming is the audio record.
