In a perfect world, Dorothy Sparks and Donita Garner would be out of work.
Instead, the two see the demands on Hope Unlimited only growing.
Sparks serves as executive director for the agency that tends to victims of sexual and physical abuse. Garner is coordinator of its Child Advocacy Center.
Not only are the numbers up, but “Our cases are a lot more severe,” Garner said, citing an overall higher level of stress. “It’s the new normal.”
“We’re seeing a lot more severe violence. A lot of strangulations between intimate partners. It’s been so much worse over the past 18 months. It’s overwhelming.”
Iola’s center is not alone, said Sparks. “Every shelter we talk to is experiencing the same thing.”
Because of this dire situation, Hope Unlimited will use a new $150,000 grant to launch a capital campaign to build a second shelter to house women and children.
Hope Unlimited was one of 29 nonprofits across the state to receive the grant last week from the Kansas Department of Commerce. A total of $4.1 million was distributed.
The Community Service Tax Credit Program grant provides tax credits for up to $200,000 for those who donate to Hope Unlimited’s project. For those who live in rural areas with a population of 15,000 or less, those who donate can receive up to 70% percent credit on their donations.
Hope Unlimited currently has one shelter with a maximum capacity of 10.
That’s about one-half of the needed space, said Sparks.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the parameters of how such shelters can accommodate individuals. Many women come with children.
“Our prior capacity was 16–18 with people sharing rooms, Sparks said. “But now, we must ensure separation between different parties.”
The shelter’s protocols have paid off, she said. “We kept everybody safe, staff included,” Sparks said
It wasn’t until earlier this summer that a client contracted the coronavirus. Even then, they were able to prevent the virus’s spread.
The pandemic has exacerbated the need for more accommodations at the shelter, said Garner.
“People are still getting COVID and having to miss work. If your place of employment docks you for every day missed, that puts your job at risk. If your child’s daycare must close because of COVID, that’s a burden on working parents. All this contributes to the stress in what could be an already stressful relationship,” Garner said.
“Isolation is also a factor,” Sparks said. During the height of the pandemic “People felt they couldn’t contact us when they needed to.”
“Now that they are out and about, we’ve seen our numbers double,” Sparks said. “It’s very clear that we cannot operate in a pandemic world.”
Both Sparks and Garner have been with the agency for 25 years. For both, the demands are greater than ever for their services.
“The violence is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” Garner said.
Because the Iola shelter is at its maximum capacity, Hope Unlimited taps into shelters primarily in Pittsburg, Kansas City and Nevada, Mo.
“We’re missing a lot of people by not having adequate space,” Sparks said. “Having to transport abuse victims to other communities is stressful. Not everyone is willing to stay somewhere else than Iola, especially if they have a job here or if they have children.
“Kids deserve to be able to stay in the same school system. They deserve to have that continuity.”
Hope Unlimited contracts with the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center to provide mental health services both in-person and virtually for adults and children.
In her role with Child Advocacy Center, Garner said the biggest challenge is helping older youths, boys especially, discuss physical or sexual abuse.
“We usually stop getting little boys coming in for help at about age 8,” she said. “They stop telling anybody what’s happening to them. They keep the pain inside.
“It’s so painful to see that they don’t feel safe sharing what’s happening to them. They have to keep everything inside, when what they need is to be able to talk about such things in a safe and caring place.
“I think they’re told to ‘man up.’ There’s a lot of pressure on boys today.”
SPARKS and Garner have big dreams for a new shelter. Besides being able to accommodate more people, it would be all on one level.
“We frequently have people who can’t negotiate stairs,” Sparks said.
“We had a time where we had three handicapped clients. It wasn’t because they were all disabled. Two had just come from the hospital with severe injuries,” Sparks said. “Both had been strangled and beaten. In those cases, rib and lung issues make it difficult to negotiate stairs.”
Mothers with toddlers in tow also would benefit from a single-story facility.
Allowing pets would also be ideal, the women said.
“We recognize that for some women, as well as children, having their pets come along can be an emotional support. In fact, some women won’t leave their situation at home if they can’t bring their pets along,” Sparks said.
Pets have also been used as bribes or threats.
“Abusers threaten to harm the family pet if the woman doesn’t return home. They use the family pet as a ploy to lure the women back into an unhealthy relationship,” Garner said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Hope Unlimited relies on the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility to temporarily house clients’ pets in such situations.
Sparks and Garner have been visiting other shelters to get an idea of what would best suit their needs.
From the pandemic, they’ve learned that instead of grouping clients four or five to a room with a communal bathroom, they need to provide rooms for individual clients as well as those with children, along with individual bathroom.
“In the past, we could put four or five people in our big room, so our capacity was 16 to 18,” Sparks said. “We didn’t have a clue as to how COVID would change everything.”
Federal funds from the Payback Protection Program as well as a gift from the Allen County Sheriff’s Department helped Hope Unlimited make the necessary adjustments to the shelter.
Another dream for the shelter includes an on-site therapist, especially for children.
“While we’re able to navigate a therapist’s services with a client, it would be so amazing if we could say, ‘You know, a therapist is just right down the hall. Would you like to visit with them?’” Garner said.
“Our clients are facing overwhelming situations. Scheduling an appointment is sometimes more than they can handle. Or many times, they don’t realize the help available to them,” said Garner.
PLANS for a new shelter have been in the works for the last two years, the women said. Early this fall, a steering committee formed of local citizens will launch an official capital campaign to raise the necessary funds.
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