Faith group ‘heartbroken’ over Northwest Arkansas women’s prison closure

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — An unassuming tan building, surrounded by trees, sits near the corner of Spring Street and College Avenue in Fayetteville.

It may not look like much on the outside but inside the Northwest Arkansas Community Corrections Center, women’s lives are changing.

“It’s priceless,” Kachia Phillips said. “That time in there for me was precious.”

Phillips is a Fayetteville resident who currently works for Goodwill as a reentry program specialist. But in 2015, she was sentenced to serve time in the NWACCC.

“I was trafficked here in Northwest Arkansas for 22 years,” she said. “It landed me with some drug charges and I ended up in the women’s prison. I was very unsure and nervous when I came in. I didn’t know what to expect I had been formerly incarcerated in Pine Bluff a couple of times and which was a little traumatic. “

When she went into the center, she found something she wasn’t expecting.

“It’s a lifeline,” she said. “That’s what it is, it’s a complete lifeline.”

Several volunteer groups work at the prison to give support and life skills to the women inside, who are state prisoners. One of those groups is the Ladies of Grace.

“I’ve worked with incarcerated women now for 25 years,” Rita Ivy, founder of Ladies of Grace, said. “In 2008, I was at one of the local county jails as a chaplain and some of the women there were not attending the classes. So I went in and asked them how we could help them improve their lives when they got out. One girl said ‘Would you teach me to be a lady?’ and another asked ‘Could you teach us hygiene?'”

Ladies of Grace go into the NWACCC every week and teach them these skills, from how to create a capsule wardrobe to tips like how to get wrinkles out of their clothing.

“We encourage and we equip the women for when they get out for a new and better life,” she said. “We really just zero in on manners and etiquette boundaries. And boundaries was always a very popular class is hard class. A lot of those girls, they didn’t know how to apply boundaries to their life.”

They also hold bible studies to help the women find guidance and comfort in the bible’s teachings.

“We help bring hope to these girls, there’s no doubt about it,” she said. “We teach God’s principles and how valuable they are, not only to God but to others.”

They also encourage them to take advantage of the time they have within the prison walls. Jeanie Burgin is one of the volunteers with Ladies of Grace who helps run the Monday night bible studies.

“What we often say, or I do In my group, is don’t waste your time here,” she said. “You have this time that’s been set aside where you don’t have to do anything but focus on you and focus on who you are, your relationship with God and your family and your recovery.”

Ivy said the NWACCC has a counselor for the women to work with, a GED program, some college courses, job training and life skills courses like parenting and budgeting. But most importantly, there is continuing support for the women when they leave.

“Whether they come to our studies or not, everybody who is released gets the Ladies of Grace backpack,” said Burgin.

She said the backpack has personal hygiene items, a spiritual book of some kind and a $50 gift certificate to any of the three Beautiful Lives Boutique locations across NWA.

“It also has our website so they can contact us if they’d like so we can sometimes keep a relationship going,” she said.

Ladies of Grace was one of the organizations that helped Phillips.

“I go back in there with another group once a month and those ladies are a reflection of who I was,” she said. “It’s very important to me to be able to go in there and let them know that there is hope once they come out. There is a community out here waiting for them.”

Washington County Justice of the Peace Beth Coger said the reputation of the center speaks for itself, mostly thanks to its low recidivism rates.

“When we had the Criminal Justice Assessment Study in 2020 by the National Center of State Courts, they said our NWACCC is a model of what a prison should be,” she said. “The reason that is, is because the women there actually get treatment.”

All of this is now coming to an end.

“The first time I remember hearing this was March 29th of 2024 when everyone on the Quorum Court got a letter from Judge Deakins that he was canceling the lease as of December 31st this year unless they can reach an agreement as to rent,” said Coger.

Right now, the Arkansas Department of Corrections leases the facility from Washington County for $1. Judge Patrick Deakins told us back in April that he wants to use the building to help with overcrowding in the Washington County Jail.

“Either we need to be adequately paid for that facility or we are going to use it as extra jail bed space to relieve some of the suffering we are having at our Washington County Detention Center,” he told us.

Coger has concerns about the costs it would take to update the facility to have stronger security and to staff it.

“It will cost millions to renovate that building to get it up to the jail standards,” she said. “There’s no bars, there’s no doors. It’s like a dormitory. And the women have it beautifully decorated.”

In July, Coger introduced a resolution to the Quorum Court that voiced support for keeping the facility open. After a few revisions, it passed unanimously.

“It shows that everyone sees a value and how important it is and that we want to keep it here,” she said.

In a phone conversation with DOC Chairman Benny Magness on Thursday, he confirmed that they were not able to agree to lease the facility with the county and it will be closing.

While he said it has been a good unit, he respects the decisions local leaders like Judge Deakins need to make for their communities.

Ivy said it’s heartbreaking that the facility is closing, but they will pray and listen to God for what their next move should be.

“We’re not going to fold up and go home,” she said. “We are going forward until they tell us we can no long no longer go there.”

Phillips believes her time in the NWACCC helped break a cycle in her family.

“I have a great relationship with my kids, although by mother raised them because I was so messed up in my addiction,” she said. “They are living their best lives free from addiction and incarceration. My family was restored.”

She said it has worked for others as well, for the betterment of the whole community.

“These women are leaving this place and not coming back,” she said. “They’re becoming productive citizens and which does everybody a favor. They’re going to work. They’re paying their taxes. I just can’t see Northwest Arkansas without it. I just can’t.”

A spokesperson for the county gave us a statement this week that said in part, “Washington County will continue to bring solutions to ensure our taxpayer resources are being utilized in to their highest and best use.”

Magness said they are still working on finding places to transfer the remaining women who are in the NWACCC. He estimates about 30 women are left. He said it’s unclear when exactly the facility will close for good.

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