In October, Women & Children First broke ground on its newest and most intensive chapter yet. The Forest of Hope Family Peace Center will allow the nonprofit to move from a small, antiquated home with 54 beds to a space with 132 beds and integrated resources like legal aid, counseling and health services all in one location. The center sits on almost 4 acres in southwest Little Rock — which the city leased to WCF for one dollar a year for 99 years — and is surrounded by an LRPD substation, health clinics and several other agencies that will all work together to serve WCF clients.
“The Forest of Hope Family Peace Center marks a profound turning point for survivors in our community,” WCF Executive Director Angela McGraw says. “This groundbreaking has been more than just the start of a building. It’s the realization of a vision born from resilience, compassion and the dream of a future where every survivor can find safety, healing and empowerment.”
The new Family Peace Center model strives to counteract the current process of helping victims of domestic violence, which can be unclear, complicated and difficult to navigate. Women must find transportation to multiple offices to obtain orders of protection against their abuser and replace the documents needed to start a new life. Meanwhile, they’re forced to relive their trauma by recounting their painful experiences multiple times to different agencies.
The nationally recognized Family Peace Center model is a multi-agency effort where victims and their children can come to a safe location for all the necessary resources. Here, their story has to be shared only once. They meet with a counselor to start the healing process and plan for safety with the insight of a police officer and prosecutor. They receive information on emergency shelters, transitional housing and available support. After immediate needs are met, the process transitions to education, job training and building independence.
The Peacekeepers are passionate volunteers who strive to make WCF more than shelter for the women and children who lodge there. They work to inject elements of fun, holidays and home into a difficult situation.
Long-time volunteer Leigh Graham will receive WCF’s Peacekeeper Award at its Woman of the Year Gala in February.
“It is essential that we provide more than just physical shelter,” Graham says. “While getting out of the situation geographically is one thing, they must have the support to move on emotionally.”
Graham says holidays can be especially difficult at the shelter, so Peacekeepers work hard to bring in some cheer.
“They make sure there are holidays meals and gifts for all the guests,” Graham explains. “The kids get to go to the shelter store and pick out gifts for their parents. Even Santa comes to visit. While their lives are far from normal, at least for a short time, it is.”
The same routine happens for Halloween trick-or-treating, Easter egg hunting and other traditions important to children and families. In 2018, WCF launched Camp Hope, which allows children who have been exposed to domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse to regain some of their childhood with a week-long mentoring and camping experience.
“One area I feel is essential to our mission is education and counseling for the children in the shelter,” Graham says. “These children are key to ending the cycle of violence. They have left the only life they’ve known, but they need to know it doesn’t always have to be that way. They need to know a different life is possible.”
As the owner of Diane’s Gourmet, Graham has been able to combine her passion for WCF with her love of food service.
“Food is a universal love language,” she says. “I have always enjoyed cooking and providing food for others, but when my husband and I purchased Diane’s, I was able to take it to a whole new level, like dinners for the guests in the shelter, box lunches for the board members and food for fundraising events and parties. The staff at Diane’s loves to prepare food for these events, so it has become a group effort.”
For Nicole Winters, WCF board member and Woman of the Year Gala chairperson, naming the 2025 award winner was an easy task.
“Leigh and her team are always ready to roll up their sleeves with an immediate ‘yes’ any time we ask for help. They always ensure no one leaves hungry,” Winters says. “She is truly a gem, and I am thrilled we can honor her and her team at this year’s gala.”
With the new headquarters, the sky’s the limit for what WCF and its Peacekeepers can cook up.
“We have laid the foundation for a sanctuary of support, where families can rebuild their lives and find hope in a community that stands with them,” McGraw says. “We are deeply grateful for everyone who has joined us on this journey. Together, we are creating a legacy of courage and change.”
Learn more at wcfarkansas.org.
PHOTOGRAPHY
JASON MASTERS
DRESS & JEWELRY
B.BARNETT
HAIR & MAKEUP
LORI WENGER