Christian County domestic violence shelter closes

Freedom’s Rest Family Violence Center closed Oct. 1 after 27 years of housing survivors of domestic and sexual violence in southwest Missouri.

The shelter, formerly known as the Christian County Family Crisis Center, announced its closure in a news release yesterday, but officials say it remains committed to providing referrals to survivors of domestic and sexual violence through the end of the year.

A phone call and email to Freedom’s Rest Executive Director Matthew Ennis were not responded to by deadline, and no one answered the office number for the organization.

The news release attributed the closure to challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic, among them limited access to public transportation, decreased funding and staffing shortages. Increased cost of operations was also cited as a cause of the closure.

Christian County-based Freedom’s Rest served more than 15,000 survivors and their children from its opening in 1996 until its closure Sunday. The shelter served an 11-county region, with most survivors coming from Springfield and Greene County, the announcement stated.

Reached for comment, Jared Alexander, executive director of Harmony House domestic violence shelter in Springfield, said, “What I know right now is their phone hotline is still active, and it’s forwarding calls to the national domestic violence hotline.”

A small number of these have been transferred to Harmony House, Alexander said.

“We are actively working to make sure Christian County has access to our hotline, and we want people to know our resources are open to them as well,” he said. “We already answer phone calls from Christian County on a pretty regular basis.

“All we know is that we’re going to be available to anybody that needs us, and we’re working to get our message out to anyone who may need our help,” he added.

Springfield Business Journal published a story in the Sept. 25 issue on Freedom’s Rest’s sale of its Neat Repeats Boutique Thrift Store locations in Ozark and Springfield, as well as its Ozark warehouse, to the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks. Freedom’s Rest did not return requests for comment at the time. Joe Daues, executive director of BCFO, declined to disclose the purchase price for the stores, but he said the price paid covered Freedom’s Rest’s investment in the businesses.

Tammy Sprouse, chair of the Freedom’s Rest Board of Directors, thanked the organization’s staff, volunteers and donors as well as the community for their support, in the release.

“We will forever be grateful to the many individuals, families and organizations who've walked beside us in supporting survivors of abuse,” she said.” The Freedom's Rest legacy lives on through the many lives that have been touched, along with the continuation of Neat Repeats Boutique Thrift Stores by the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks.”

In an official statement from Harmony House, Alexander said his organization was saddened to learn of the closure of the Freedom’s Rest Family Violence Center.

“The services provided to victims of abuse in the Christian County area undoubtedly saved lives and set individuals on a path to a future free from abuse,” he said.

He added that confidential emergency hotlines at Harmony House are always available to people who are in need of safety planning guidance, emergency shelter or referral to additional supportive services, or to those calling on behalf of someone they know. The number is 417-864-7233.

Freedom’s Rest offers the additional option of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, available by phone at 800-799-7233 or for online chat at TheHotline.org.