SPRINGDALE -- The J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family has given $3 million to help local child abuse victims.
The donation to the Children's Safety Center of Washington County will go to the construction of a larger center to be built south of Arvest Ballpark on Gene George Boulevard. The center will be named to honor the family, said Elizabeth Shackelford, executive director of the center.
The new facility, announced in May, will be three times larger than the space currently leased at the Center for Nonprofits. Shackelford said center leaders hope to expand the therapy department with the added space. The current building has space for two therapists, meaning some children go elsewhere for therapy.
The center staff would like to see the children return to the center for therapy, as staff members build trust with the children, Shackelford said.
The center offers several different therapy methods for dealing with trauma, including a child-parent component, she said.
"And it's free," she added.
The center's website says it has seen an increase of 52% in children served over the last five years. The center saw 700 children last year, down from 800 pre-pandemic in 2019, Shackelford said. But cases are increasing again, she said.
During the pandemic, the children were away from their teachers and others who are the most common reporters of child abuse, Shackelford explained. She doesn't expect the effects of the pandemic to show up for a few years.
"When children disclose abuse, they often delay disclosure for one to five years," she said. "I think we will see these cases further down the road."
Shackelford said she would expect the numbers of child abuse reported to increase as the region's population increases.
"But we feel good when we see the numbers growing because we think the children have learned to feel safe when they disclose," she said.
The Hunt family's donation was made as a part of the Children's Safety Center's Healing the Future Campaign, which is raising $12.5 million to expand the center's programs.
The campaign needs $3.4 million to meet the goal, Shackelford said. All the money so far has come from private donations, she said.