When Christian County's only domestic violence shelter abruptly closed, questions followed

After 27 years of service, Christian County's only domestic and sexual violence shelter shuttered last fall. The closure came as a surprise to former employees, local domestic violence service providers and the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Freedom’s Rest Family Violence Center, formerly located off U.S. 65 in Ozark, closed Oct. 1. The announcement was made in a nearly 800-word news release shared on the shelter’s now defunct Facebook page Oct. 4.

The closure was met with raised eyebrows, as the release cited a “reduced demand for shelter services in the Ozark area ...”

Throughout a months-long investigation, the News-Leader sought to answer several questions prompted by the shelter's abrupt closure. The News-Leader interviewed three former shelter employees, exchanged emails with the organization's CEO — who refused to discuss the closure in person or by phone — and obtained tax forms and a state audit of the shelter that pointed to its financial shortcomings.

In addition to the widespread effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Freedom's Rest experienced a drop in revenue as expenses continued to climb. Notably, the News-Leader also learned that in three of the organization's final six years of operation, its CEO drew a full-time salary from Freedom's Rest while also being paid as a full-time executive at another, national nonprofit, with other former employees attributing part of the shelter's decline to a lack of on-site leadership.

What did Freedom’s Rest provide for the Christian County community?

Founded as the Christian County Family Crisis Center in 1996, Freedom’s Rest provided a range of services for people experiencing violence and abuse. In addition to operating as an emergency shelter, the nonprofit provided a 24-hour helpline, assistance in securing employment and affordable housing, resource and referral services, community outreach and case management, according to Matthew Ennis, who served as the organization’s CEO and president from 2017 up until its closure.

Between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023, Freedom’s Rest served 338 individuals, specifically providing shelter to 61 of these individuals, according to an annual report provided to the News-Leader by the Missouri Department of Social Services. While some domestic violence shelters are limited to serving only women or those abused by intimate partners, Freedom's Rest offered services to all victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Located just east of U.S. Highway 65 near James River Church South, Freedom’s Rest was operated from a motel and one-story home. The motel was donated to the Freedom’s Rest organization by C&C Family Properties, owned by Carole and the late Clifton Collins of Ozark, according to the Christian County Assessor's database. Clifton Collins, who died at the age of 75 in 2014, was a board member of the organization, according to his obituary.

In recent years, the one-story home served as the shelter’s office space. The motel portion of the shelter remains surrounded by a wooden fence, only accessible with keypad entry.

At the time of closure, the shelter had 54 beds, Ennis told the News-Leader via email. This was up from just 18 beds the shelter offered in 2015, two years before Ennis’s involvement with the organization. In addition to individual rooms, the shelter was equipped with a laundry, kitchen, stocked pantry, storage shed, playground and dumpster, according to a former Freedom’s Rest employee who wished to remain anonymous for the sake of future job security.

Upon closing its doors, Freedom’s Rest began donating many of its assets to area nonprofits selected by the board of directors. These organizations included Sammy’s Window, Dogwood Ranch, the Price Cutter Charity Championship and Legal Services of Southern Missouri, Ennis told the News-Leader via email.

Why did Freedom’s Rest close?

According to the news release shared on Facebook, Freedom’s Rest faced a number of challenges in recent years, most stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"These include reduced demand for shelter services in the Ozark area due to limited access to public transportation, decreased funding and ongoing staffing difficulties in the post-pandemic environment," the release stated. “Additionally, the shelter has grappled with the increasing costs related to the operations of the facility.”

When asked for more specific information related to the shelter’s closure, Ennis told the News-Leader to reference the public news release. But the news release alone falls short of capturing the factors that contributed to the shelter's struggles and eventual closure.

A pandemic shift in finances, fundraising

The COVID-19 pandemic shifted how domestic violence shelters operate. At Freedom's Rest, rooms that previously housed multiple victims in bunk beds were limited to one individual or household to avoid the spread of the virus.

Additionally, the nonprofit's efforts to bring in donations became more complicated.

Abbi Bryant worked at Freedom’s Rest as the development and outreach coordinator from 2018 to 2021, experiencing the weight of the pandemic. She said in terms of supplies and items needed for survivors, donations actually grew, with more people reaching out asking for ways to help. But when it came to cash donations, Freedom's Rest and many other domestic violence service providers struggled.

A 2021 report released by the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, or MOCADSV, found that individual general revenue for domestic violence service providers fell by 54% from 2020 to 2021, despite an increase in one-time federal and state grants.

Matthew Huffman, chief public affairs officer for MOCADSV, said the biggest hit to unrestricted revenue during the pandemic came from the cancellation of large fundraising events — a point echoed by leaders at Springfield's Harmony House.

Considered Missouri’s largest domestic violence shelter, Harmony House offers 168 beds and 41 rooms. In 2022, Harmony House sheltered 307 people.

“(The pandemic) definitely put a little bit of a strain on how we were doing fundraising. If we were doing special events, those were gone,” Harmony House Executive Director Jared Alexander said. “Especially in 2020, we just had to get creative with how we were doing those.”

But Freedom’s Rest did not host large fundraising events like Harmony House and some other shelters did.

According to Freedom’s Rest’s 2021 federal tax Form 990, the organization brought in more than $1 million in revenue that year, compared to about $500,000 in 2020. Public support in the form of grants, gifts and contributions doubled between the two years. The form does not itemize these revenues but indicates government grants increased significantly — more than seven times the monetary amount in 2020.

Christian County did not allocate any American Rescue Plan Act funding to Freedom’s Rest. However, the county has a Family Violence Fund that allocates $5 from each marriage license issued in the county toward assistance for domestic violence services, per state statute. According to the county treasurer, in 2022, this accounted for almost $3,000 to Freedom's Rest. These funds will continue to be collected and are now forwarded to Harmony House.

For Freedom's Rest, the pandemic did not appear to negatively impact revenue but it did have an effect on operations and costs.

As operational expenses rose, CEO drew two paychecks

As Freedom's Rest's revenues increased in 2021, so did expenses. Particularly, the nonprofit was spending significantly more on advertising and promotion, occupancy, office expenses, technology, as well as shelter renovations and repairs, compared to pre-pandemic spending in 2019.

Huffman, the spokesman for MOCADSV, said organizations commonly spent more on technological updates to make nonresidential services available remotely and to give shelter residents remote access to school and work.

As former employees recount, Freedom's Rest was also in need of repairs, as the building was old and experienced plumbing issues. Ennis told the News-Leader via email that the office space and shelter underwent "some updates" to improve accessibility and privacy of shelter residents. The advertising spending, which totaled more than $150,000, was a donation from an anonymous donor restricted for use on billboards around the Springfield area, he said.

The largest area of spending was on occupancy costs, which totaled more than $237,000 in 2021, more than five times the $43,748 recorded in 2019.

Payroll was another significant area of spending — most notably at the top. Ennis, the former CEO and president, was paid $110,652 in 2021 for his work at Freedom’s Rest. While the salary amount is not out of the ordinary for a nonprofit executive, Ennis was simultaneously drawing in another full-time executive salary from a national nonprofit, 1in6. Based in Los Angeles, the national nonprofit serves men who have experienced sexual abuse and assault through support groups. The nonprofit also offers trainings to service providers. Ennis became CEO and president of 1in6 at the start of 2019 and posted on his personal Facebook about leaving Freedom's Rest at the end of 2022.

During 2021, when he was paid $110,652 by Freedom's Rest, Ennis was also compensated $99,999 for working as CEO and president at 1in6. In 2020, Form 990s from the two organizations show Ennis’s compensation from Freedom's Rest was $99,259, while he received $103,846 from 1in6. On both forms, he is noted as working full-time, 40 hours per week.

Neither an organization spokesperson from 1in6 nor Ennis would comment on his time at 1in6 and the circumstances around his departure. As of May 23, 2024, 1in6 still had not named a new CEO and president.

Former employees cite absentee management, low pay

With Ennis apparently splitting time between the two organizations, Freedom’s Rest suffered from absentee leadership, former employees told the News-Leader. They said they struggled to secure adequate pay while taking on additional responsibilities as the pandemic stretched roles and resources.

The public statement announcing the shelter's closure cited “ongoing staffing difficulties in the post-pandemic environment” as a key challenge. When asked to expand on these difficulties, Ennis told the News-Leader that the organization was “unable to comment on personnel-related matters.”

Among the three former employees who spoke with the News-Leader, a common theme expressed was concern with the shelter’s management, specifically Ennis's absence.

Aleah Woodmansee worked as a victim advocate and case manager at the shelter between 2020 and 2022. She said during the two and a half years she worked at the shelter, Ennis “came into the office maybe five or six times, at least in my presence.”

The former employee who wished to remain anonymous said Ennis was “largely absent” and “ran a poor ship.”

Bryant, the third former employee, was hired in 2018 as outreach coordinator. By the time she left in 2021, she had absorbed the volunteer coordinator role and also worked as the development director, managing Neat Repeats, a thrift store the shelter operated in Ozark.

Bryant told the News-Leader that about a year into her employment, Ennis announced he was resigning. Following his resignation from Freedom’s Rest, Ennis was expected to take on the role as CEO and president of 1in6.

“He had announced his resignation to us and told us he was going to stay at the shelter for a year to onboard a new executive director, train them for a year and then he was going to be gone with the new organization,” Bryant said.

Bryant was the one expected to step up and take his place, she said. She began managing Neat Repeats, but as time went on, she said she felt as though she was not being clued in on everything she needed to know to take over as executive director, operating on “very limited information.” The planned leadership transition never happened.

"But then it sort of just felt like he was collecting a paycheck from Freedom's Rest and not really like operating in his hands-on CEO capacity," Bryant said.

The staff, which numbered fewer than 10 people, grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of communication and leadership, leading to significant turnover, the three former employees said.

“There was an expectation of us having like extreme accountability for things but not having any ability to make decisions," Bryant said. "I think that it frustrated a lot of people, especially with him not being very reachable most of the time. It stunted my ability to do my job."

Bryant said when she resigned, she expressed concerns about how Ennis operated the organization to the Freedom’s Rest board.

“When I left, I actually … had a phone call with the president of the board and I told her that I thought that if Matt stayed in leadership there any longer, it was going to tank the shelter,” Bryant said, “... just because of the way that everything was kind of running and the way that employees felt and the way it felt like we weren’t able to meet clients' needs fully just because of the way it was being managed. I told them that I thought it wasn’t going to be successful long term if he stayed there.”

The News-Leader reached out to the most recent board members of the organization but was unsuccessful in obtaining comment from any of them.

In addition to shelter management, the former employees expressed concerns about their pay and benefits.

Woodmansee said when she started working at the shelter in early 2020, her base pay started at $11 an hour. After more than a year, and several requests, she was able to meet with Ennis about securing a raise.

“It was maybe four months past my review date that I was even able to sit down with (Ennis),” Woodmansee said. “I was telling him how it’s very discouraging working with individuals who have nothing. I’m trying to tell them to be positive and connect them to resources when I am not able to survive myself.”

In the end, Woodmansee said she received a raise of about $2 an hour, which was “great.” During her last year at the shelter, the staff dwindled to less than a handful of people.

By the time she left Freedom's Rest in 2021, Bryant said her annual salary was $35,000 with no benefits. This was after taking on several new roles on top of her existing position. While there, Bryant also helped hire new staff. She described starting rates as problematic, contributing to the serial understaffing.

“When we hired new positions … I know that we were not paying enough to get people who really kind of knew how to serve that population (domestic violence survivors) well, just from what I know they offer from different shelters,” Bryant said.

Drop in revenue signals trouble

Financial struggles mounted ahead of the shelter's closure as the increased revenue recorded in 2021 declined.

The most recent Freedom’s Rest tax form, for the 2022 calendar year, was filed in November 2023 with a reported $726,866 in total revenue — a drop from the $1 million-plus collected in 2021, though still higher than the roughly $500,000 the nonprofit reported in 2020. Government grants and other contributions all decreased, though Neat Repeats continued to bring in additional revenue.

Alexander, from Harmony House, said pandemic-driven government grants were a necessary resource but also not a permanent one. Government funding also often includes restrictions on spending, limiting what an organization is able to do.

“(Relief funds) are also honestly a band-aid,” Huffman with MOCADSV said. “We had a federal infusion of money into the economy that came down to states and the local level. But there was also a recognition that it was a one time infusion, and it's not something that agencies could necessarily rely on in the long term.”

Ennis took a pay cut, according to the 2022 tax form, receiving $93,821 in total compensation. While some spending on occupancy, advertising and shelter renovations decreased, more was spent on non-food supplies, insurance, office expenses and other salaries.

The most recent audit of the shelter, issued in November 2023 and performed by the Missouri Department of Social Services, examined financial documents from April, May and June 2022. The audit results, obtained by the News-Leader through a Sunshine Law request, note three discrepancies in the shelter’s spending. The discrepancies include roughly $320 charged for unsupported expenses, not following procurement policies for service or purchase contracts and submitting an invoice for an expense that was incurred in a prior year. Ennis said the staff caught this last error and notified DSS ahead of the audit.

“This was in no way related to the closure of the shelter,” he noted via email.

Without much comment from Ennis or the board of directors, the narrative provided by the audit and tax form numbers is incomplete, though declining revenue and depreciating assets point to challenging finances, compounded by the leadership vacuum and staff turnover.

State, regional stakeholders ‘caught off guard’ by closure

Local domestic violence resource providers and MOCADSV told the News-Leader they were surprised to hear of Freedom’s Rest closure in October 2023.

MOCADSV does not provide direct services to victims, but rather provides resources to partners — including shelters like Freedom’s Rest — and conducts public policy work. MOCADSV works with more than 100 partners throughout the state, making it the fourth largest coalition of its kind in the country.

Huffman, with MOCADSV, said when a partner decides to close its doors, the partner typically informs MOCADSV ahead of time. This was not the case with Freedom’s Rest.

“They actually let us know around the same time that they were letting the general public know,” Huffman said, adding that it was likely because Freedom’s Rest was looking to protect the safety of its residents and staff.

The reasons Freedom's Rest cited for closure are not unique, Huffman said, with other organizations struggling with similar issues. Since 2019, three domestic violence shelters in Missouri have closed.

Due to state and federal confidentiality laws, MOCADSV was unable to assist in relocating Freedom’s Rest residents. But the coalition offers consultations and resources for organization who may be struggling financially when closure or a reduction in services is considered. Once the board decides to close a shelter's doors, Huffman said the MOCADSV can help with referrals to nearby organizations that could fill the gap in services.

The coalition did connect with its partners in the region to inquire how they were preparing for a potential increase in victims following the closure. One of these partners was Harmony House in Springfield.

Alexander, the executive director of Harmony House, told the News-Leader that the organization was “caught off guard” by the closure of Freedom’s Rest. Alexander said he found out the shelter was shuttering a few days before the news release was shared on Facebook.

In the days following, Alexander said Harmony House did not experience a “huge spike” in victim call volume, despite being prepared for a potential influx.

In addition to preparing his own staff, Alexander said he found it important to reach out to entities in Christian County that worked with domestic and sexual violence victims.

“We’re just trying to reach out to them and let them know that we are here, this is the way to get in touch with us, here’s the services we offer. But also … not try to overstep, not trying to insert ourselves into things that the community doesn’t need,” Alexander told the News-Leader in November 2023.

One of those entities was the Christian County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecuting Attorney Kristin Tuohy said the office was “surprised” to learn of the closure of Freedom’s Rest via the news release shared on Facebook.

Tuohy said Alexander began working closely with the office to assist legal staff in being better prepared to work with domestic and sexual violence victims. Because of Harmony House’s swift action, Tuohy said she didn’t believe there was "any lapse in services" for the Christian County community.

In an email to the News-Leader, Ennis expressed gratitude for area organizations who stepped up to help.

“While we are saddened that the emergency shelter at Freedom’s Rest Family Violence Center has closed, we are encouraged by the response of the community and other agencies to continue to come around survivors of domestic and sexual violence in our region to provide safe shelter and resources for healing,” Ennis said.

In addition to being a member of the MOCADSV, Freedom’s Rest was a member of Community Partnership of the Ozarks’ Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessness and Christian County Homeless Alliance. CPO Vice President of Communications Justin Lockhart said none of the three organizations received a “direct notice” of Freedom’s Rest closure. They learned about the closure via the news release shared on Oct. 4.

Ennis said via email that the board of directors officially voted to close the shelter Sept. 21, 2023. After this vote, he said communication of the closure was delayed in order to secure safe housing and resources for shelter residents and those receiving services, though Ennis did not elaborate on how this occurred, particularly without notifying the nearest service providers and partners.

Lack of public transportation poses obstacles

Limited access to public transportation in Christian County — one of several factors cited in Freedom's Rest's closure announcement — continues to be a challenge for those seeking services.

Ennis said the majority of those Freedom's Rest served came from Springfield. Former employees said the majority of survivors came from the surrounding area including Greene and Taney Counties, without pinpointing Springfield specifically.

Before the pandemic, volunteers provided transportation for clients. As the world went in lockdown and social distancing became the norm, the established transportation system was no longer feasible.

“Due to limited resources, Freedom’s Rest was only able to provide transportation assistance through volunteers and limited ride-share vouchers for medical, employment, social services and legal-related appointments,” Ennis said. “The nearest bus stop to access the City Utilities public transit system is more than seven miles from the shelter. While the shelter was able to provide more transportation options in the past, these resources were greatly diminished during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

According to state statute, law enforcement is required to provide or arrange transportation to a shelter if a victim wants to take advantage of such resources. That only applies when responding to a scene of a report of domestic or sexual violence, however, and many domestic violence survivors are hesitant to report their experiences to law enforcement due to a variety of reasons and fears, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Transportation is also an issue at the Christian County Prosecutor’s Office. For the office, it is more a matter of ensuring survivors remain engaged with the justice system and have the transportation to do so.

In the wake of Freedom's Rest closing, Harmony House provided transportation vouchers to the prosecutor’s office. Additionally, Tuohy said the office has received a $1,000 grant from Impact 100 Ozark, a collective of women looking to raise money to fund grants around Ozark. While the money was originally awarded for an investigator vehicle which is used to transport victims and witnesses, Tuohy said she thinks she will be able to redirect the money to assist with transportation costs when needed.

A source of revenue remains intact

Although Freedom’s Rest has closed its doors, a piece of the nonprofit lives on under new ownership: Neat Repeats Thrift Store. Located at 1936 W. Retail Lane in Ozark, the second-hand clothing store benefited the shelter.

In May 2022, Freedom’s Rest opened a second Neat Repeats location in Springfield’s Battlefield Plaza Shopping Center, according to KY3 reporting. On Aug. 23, 2023, just months before the shelter ceased operation, a post made on the Neat Repeats Boutique Thrift Store Facebook page announced the Springfield location would be closing Aug. 26.

A week later, on Aug. 31, a post made on the same page said the store would be reopening. On Sept. 15, the Neat Repeats Facebook Page’s cover image was changed, indicating ownership by the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks. The Springfield location, now operated by BCFO, officially re-opened on Sept. 27.

BCFO Executive Director Joe Daues said the organization had been interested in another revenue stream, like a thrift store, for “some time.” When he heard that the Neat Repeats location was closing, he made his way over to see about purchasing the store’s fixtures.

During his visit to the store, Daues ran into Ennis and the two had a conversation about the store's closure. Daues said he expressed interest in taking over the store from Freedom’s Rest to Ennis, then brought the idea back to the BCFO board. They approved.

“We turned it around very quickly because they had already set up a closing date and everything,” Dause said of the thrift store. “Everything … kept running and everyone kept getting paid and we essentially just … assumed ownership of the store and have kept the business running.”

Today, BCFO also operates a Neat Repeats location in Joplin.

Before leaving Freedom’s Rest in 2021, Bryant said it appeared that the Ozark Neat Repeats location was successful, though she never had access to the store’s finances.

“I can tell you from experience, more people were shopping in the store than before and trying to get involved,” Bryant said. “Everybody was busier than before ... I mean, by all factors it looked like we were doing better than before.”

Bryant added that the store was also collecting more donations and had to install a “storage pod” in the back just to keep things organized.

The News-Leader asked Ennis how much the Neat Repeats stores brought in on a monthly basis, but he did not answer the question in his email correspondence.

An ongoing need amid a service gap

One of the more astonishing reasons Freedom's Rest listed for closing was “reduced demand for shelter services in the Ozarks,” which the shelter's Facebook statement attributed to “limited access to public transportation, decreased funding and ongoing staffing difficulties in the post-pandemic environment.”

“That one was a little hard to hear,” Alexander of Harmony House told the News-Leader in response to the news release.

“I don’t know that I could agree that there’s a reduced demand in our community, including Christian County, and in southwest Missouri,” Alexander added. “We just know as a whole, we’ve seen an increase, not just in our call volume, but our law enforcement partners have seen an increase in response calls.”

Although the former Freedom’s Rest employees who spoke with the News-Leader were not involved in the decision to close the shelter, they weighed in on the demand for shelter services.

The former Freedom’s Rest employee who wished to remain anonymous said during the time they worked at the shelter, they did not experience a reduction in demand.

“When I was working there, there might be fluctuations on how many calls we got, but it wasn’t like, ‘Wow, that was a quiet week, no one was in need of shelter,’” the former employee said.

Bryant echoed this, telling the News-Leader that during the two-and-a-half years she worked at Freedom’s Rest, the shelter “rarely” had excess beds.

“I can’t recall a night that the phone didn’t ring at least once or twice,” she said.

Ennis said that rather than a "blanket statement" about reduced demand for shelter services, the news release pointed to multiple contributing factors that led to the decision to close Freedom's Rest.

For the shelter's former employees and other area service providers, the steady stream of survivors seeking support made the shelter's abrupt closure all the more jarring. But demand for services could not overcome the growing difficulty behind the scenes.

"To actually operate a shelter, it costs a lot of money. There's just a lot of overhead that goes along with running a facility like that," Huffman with MOCADSV said. "Unfortunately, all of those things just happen to compound and ultimately, ... all of those reasons just got to a point where they decided it's really no longer viable to keep the organization open."

Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.

Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. She has more than five years of journalism experience covering everything from Ozarks history to Springfield’s LGBTQIA+ community. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her atgcross@news-leader.com.