Area legislators are being asked for help to avert a possible closure of the CASA Women’s Shelter.
Mayor Vivian Flowers and Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr., have sent text messages to State Representatives Mike Holcomb, Glenn Barnes and Ken Ferguson asking them to intercede with the State Department of Human Services who is asking for the immediate repayment of a $75,000 ESG Grant (administered by DHS) that was awarded to CASA and misappropriated by a former staff member at CASA.
According to the text message, there was a criminal investigation and those responsible were terminated.
As a result of an audit and the demand for immediate repayment of the funds, DHS is requiring repayment before releasing any further money to CASA, putting it in danger of closing.
Flowers and Woods are asking that the legislators contact to contact DHS “to request a goodwill waiver on the Emergency Solutions Grant.”
Flowers went on to quote Woods as saying as we all know, “CASA’s vital services to victims in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County and Southeast Arkansas depend on our ability to resolve this without catastrophic interruption. We believe your collective voice and advocacy for a waiver or reasonable repayment plan; CASA’s ongoing operations will be preserved.”
“Your intervention could be the difference between CASA’s survival or collapse,” the text message said. “This is a matter of public safety and welfare of some of our most vulnerable citizens.”
