Safe Places

Safe Places works with children, as well as adults, who have been victims of abuse or exposed to violence.
During a recession, domestic violence increases, said the Little Rock nonprofit’s executive director, Kathy Manis Findley. “People get very stressed, and their emotions get stretched beyond what they can handle.”
Nonprofits get stretched as well. Findley said one of Safe Places’ biggest accomplishments last year was just “surviving the economy.” But through hustle and hard work, Safe Places saw its 2009 revenue rise 12 percent, to $400,000 compared with $358,000 in 2008. The organization served 1,500 clients last year.
Findley attributed the revenue rise to Safe Places receiving grants, “because individual donations were down, as they were for everyone.”
Despite the recession, Findley is optimistic about Safe Places’ prospects in 2010. Part of that optimism stems from an experience at Christmas that she sees as “a harbinger of things to come.”
During the holidays, people “adopt” Safe Places’ clients, giving Christmas gifts to families. Because the nonprofit’s clients are the victims of violence, they often seek to remain anonymous. “Our Latino clients are not really like that,” Findley said. “They’re very open and giving.” A Dunbar Middle School Spanish class adopted a number of Safe Places families at Christmas. The class met with 12 Latino families during the holidays, and “these kids really got with their family, they played with the kids, they talked to them, they gave them their gifts, they served them pizza, and they just really got into it,” Findley said.
That encounter led the grandmother of one of the students to call Safe Places to say, “I want to help another family.” That was a serendipitous event for Findley and the staff. During the holidays, the nonprofit was late making payroll because revenue was running so low. “It just made all of us feel like we’re doing this for a reason even though it’s hard.”

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