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GENEROUS CITIZENS DONATE CARS TO HELP ABUSE SURVIVORS

Vehicles will go to survivors in shelter and out-of-shelter

FAYETTEVILLE— A 1999 Crown Victoria was donated to Peace at Home Family Shelter by former State Rep. Lindsley Smith.  This vehicle was repaired by Kent Atkins and his team at the Greased Pig in Fayetteville and presented to the shelter for transportation of clients to appointments, job interviews, and other important tasks.

A 1994 Buick LeSabre was also donated by the Hussle Family of Prairie Grove.  This vehicle was repaired by Murphy Pair and his team at J&B Auto, located at 126 South Neal Street in Prairie Grove, and presented to a young mother of five on Monday March 15.  Vehicles are very important for domestic violence survivors who often are faced with the prospect of trying to get to work and get children to school without steady transportation.

 
 ”We’re very appreciative of both of these businesses donating their time, labor, and expertise to help those in need in our community,” said Judith Selle, CEO of Peace at Home.  “Without people like the staff at J and B Auto and the Grease Pig, we’d be faced with another challenge to overcome in our mission to end domestic violence.  They’ve helped make things a little easier for everyone.”
 
The cars are donated to Charity Cars and then distributed to and repaired by local Bumper-to-Bumper Service Centers.  The local centers do this by their own initiative since there is no longer a national campaign.  Each service receives a vehicle, gets the parts donated, and donates their time and labor.

 

Established in 1977, Peace at Home is Arkansas’ oldest shelter for domestic violence survivors. Their mission is to END domestic violence.  They offer emergency shelter, a crisis line, advocacy, job training, and bi-lingual services. In 2007, the organization had an astonishing 78% success rate for families moving onto safe and successful lives. Last year, they had 3,936 safe nights for women and children.
 

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The program has allowed many domestic violence survivors since this program began the opportunity to gain necessary transportation to become self-sufficient and create a new, peaceful life for themselves and their children.

“Having a vehicle is going to mean that she is able to move about safely with her children and build a future that is violence free,” said Maria Thompson-McSperitt, Transitional Services Coordinator for Peace at Home.  “It means so much to have people like the Hussle family and Mrs. Smith looking out for those in need.”

Both Kent Atkins and his team of technicians from the Greased Pig and Murphy Pair and the service technicians at J & B Auto have been supporters of the Bumper to Bumper, Peace at Home, and Charity Cars partnership since its inception in 2007. They have also volunteered several hours of time and donated many repairs for the shelter vehicles over the years and have always done so very graciously and generously.  They do this with the support of the great team from the Parts Store that provides them with the parts that they need to do the repairs at no cost to the shop.