Pope County shelter workers laid off as impacts loom amid federal funding cuts

POPE COUNTY, Ark. — Every advocate at the River Valley Shelter for Battered Women and Children has lost their position as of this week, following a complete loss of federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding — a move that advocates warn will have deadly consequences for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault across Arkansas.

Eight staff members, including outreach advocates, shelter workers and a liaison embedded in a local police department, were laid off Friday in an effort to keep the shelter’s basic services running for as long as possible. By the end of this week, only two staff members will remain to run the 24/7 shelter, which serves hundreds of individuals and families each month.

“This isn’t just the loss of jobs — it’s the loss of lifelines,” said Zoe Lee, an outreach advocate who was among those set to be laid off. “We’ve already seen one shelter shut down this week. Others are saying they only have enough money to last a year. We’re all bracing for what comes next.”

VOCA funding, administered by the U.S. Department of Justice and distributed through state governments, has historically supported shelters, rape crisis centers, child advocacy programs and court-appointed victim services. In Arkansas, funding dropped from $12 million in 2023 to just $6.9 million in the current cycle. Only six shelters across the state received funding this year.

Advocates are warning that the effects of the cuts will be immediate and devastating.

“You’re going to see, in the worst-case scenario — and I’m not being dramatic — a loss of life,” Lee said. “Domestic violence doesn’t stop because the money did. What stops is our ability to help.”

Shelters rely on close collaboration across victim services. When a survivor arrives needing a rape kit, the shelter calls the crisis center. When the crisis center’s client needs a bed, they call the shelter. With shelters closing or operating at reduced capacity, Lee said, that network is unraveling.

“If I don’t have room, I refer them to another shelter. But what happens when that shelter doesn’t exist anymore?” she said.

The River Valley Shelter will continue to operate its emergency hotline and provide temporary housing for as long as possible. But the loss of its outreach program — and the decades of experience its staff brought to advocacy — is a blow the community may not recover from.

Lee herself had worked at the shelter for six years. One colleague had been there for 30.

“This job is not just a paycheck. We do it because we care deeply about survivors,” Lee said.

One anonymous survivor, who has been staying at the shelter for two weeks, said the loss of support systems is heartbreaking.

“I was in a domestic violence relationship, and I lost my two children because of the level of violence,” she said. “This shelter has been a huge support — they’re helping me take steps to rebuild. It’s devastating to know that women and children like me won’t have this anymore.”

The survivor, who is working and applying for housing, credited the shelter’s advocacy classes and transportation services as essential to her healing.

“Sometimes, just having someone to talk to when you feel unsafe means everything,” she said. “There’s no better shelter in Arkansas.”

River Valley isn’t the only program suffering. Shelters and victim service providers across Arkansas are cutting staff, ending outreach programs and scaling back essential services due to the loss of VOCA funding.

“We’re seeing a complete defunding of safety nets,” Lee said. “Court advocacy, emergency housing, rape crisis work, child abuse prevention — it’s all being impacted. And it’s all connected.”

Survivors often arrive at shelters without basic necessities or identification, Lee said. The River Valley Shelter’s thrift store, “The Thrift Store,” helps provide clothing, household items and essentials to help individuals transition into independence.

“It often takes seven to eight attempts for a domestic violence survivor to leave for good,” Lee said. “This funding cut makes every one of those attempts harder — maybe impossible.”

In the past seven years, Lee and the River Valley outreach team helped at least 40 families each holiday season, provided emergency housing, filed protection orders and offered trauma-informed advocacy. That work has now come to a halt.

Lee said she has called every member of the Arkansas Senate and House, along with federal representatives, to sound the alarm.

“I don’t even know what to tell them sometimes — the scale of what’s being lost is that drastic,” she said. “We needed more funding, not less.”

She’s urging residents across the state to reach out to their legislators and demand emergency funding for victim services.

“The state already doesn’t have enough beds,” she said. “Just because you defund these programs doesn’t mean the violence ends — it means the people trying to escape it have nowhere to go.”

Each year, Arkansas participates in the Clothesline Project, hanging T-shirts to honor those lost to domestic violence. Lee fears the number of shirts will grow significantly next year.

“If nothing changes, this will cost lives,” she said.

Arkansas residents can contact their local and federal legislators to advocate for the restoration of VOCA funding. Victim service providers are also encouraging donations and volunteer support to help shelters weather the crisis.