Interior of the Hope Domestic Violence Inc. store at 1318 South Main. Courtesy of Mandy Turner.

On Friday April 29, at the Domestic Violence Prevention Inc. service outlet and store on 1318 South Main in Hope starting at 9 a.m. and running to 5 p.m., a public event will include sales in their thrift store, $2 raffles for gift certificates to El Agaves and Tailgaters, a bake sale and the serving of hamburgers and hot dogs.

The event will mark the end of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Mandy Turner, who is the Rural Arkansas Special Populations Program Director and has worked for Domestic Violence Prevention Inc. for over 14 years, said the event will also have “on-site advocates to speak with.”

The Hope location is one of three around the Arkansas-Texas border region. The Texarkana location was founded by Gayle Martin in 1979.  Headquarters in Atlanta, Texas and Hope were opened afterward. The Hope store, Turner said, opened in 2019.

From Hope, the staff serve Hempstead as well as the surrounding counties of Nevada, Howard, Sevier, Pike, Little River.  As Turner said, the staff serves “but is not limited to” those counties.

The Domestic Violence Prevention Inc. website describes the nonprofit’s mission “to break the cycle of violence by providing a safe alternative to a violent home and by providing education, counseling and support services to clients and their children.”

Among the services provided:

• “Emergency shelter, immediate crisis intervention and advocacy,

• “A 24 hour crisis hotline at 903-793-HELP (4357) or 903-277-3350.

• “Emergency and medical transportation.

• “Legal advocacy and court accompaniment.

• “Educational and supportive activities for children

• “Education and support groups for adult and child victims of sexual assault/incest and domestic violence

• “Individual counseling for shelter residents and nonresidents

• “Community referrals and information.

• “A battering intervention and prevention program that provides counseling and group sessions for abusive partners.”

The website says the organization also “conducts community outreach by providing information and referrals to community agencies, conducting professional and volunteer trainings, and giving presentations and information to schools and youth groups on the topics of teen violence prevention, healthy relationships, and bullying, as well as general presentations to civic groups, businesses and churches.”

The exterior of the Hope Domestic Violence Inc. location.