The Impact of Violence on Children and Families

Violence has left deep scars across Pulaski County, touching children, parents, and entire neighborhoods. LaShanna Bruce and Deanna Walderns of the 100 Families Initiative of Pulaski County sit down with Restore Hope's Paul Chapman to explain how the initiative helps families in crisis and offers real alternatives to a life of violence.

Bruce, born and raised in Little Rock, has spent years working with families through her church and in community programs. She says families are desperate for solutions. “The community is wanting help for not just the families that are impacted, but for the community as a whole, because it’s scary. Families are asking: what are we going to do?”

Her experience working with the county sheriff’s office revealed the stark reality—many of those committing violent crimes are teenagers who don’t fully grasp their actions. “Some said it was about protection, or simply what they grew up seeing,” Bruce explained. “Mentally, they’re not even capable of understanding the reason why they’re committing these crimes.”

Walderns, who came to Arkansas more than 20 years ago, has dedicated her life to adoption, foster care, and family preservation. She has witnessed the devastating ripple effects of violence.

In her first months with the 100 Families Initiative, she lost two boys she had been working with. “They were cousins, shot over a stolen gun,” she said. “One had been in my office the week before, telling me he had to protect his mom. That’s generational trauma at work.”

She also described meeting 12- and 13-year-olds who casually reported having guns pulled on them multiple times in a single week. “It's the effects of growing up in environments where secrecy and survival mask deep wounds,” Walderns said.

The 100 Families Initiative is a collaborative model that assesses families across 13 areas of need, from housing and transportation to childcare and mental health. Each family is paired with an advocate who builds a care team of local service providers. The goal is to move families from crisis to stability to career.

One mother entered the program on the verge of losing her child. Advocates helped her secure housing, provided counseling for trauma, connected her to workforce partners, and even purchased her EMT school book when finances threatened her first day of class. Today, the mother is a licensed EMT and her child is thriving.

Currently, 357 families are active in the 100 Families Initiative in Pulaski County alone, with advocates carrying caseloads of around 60–65 families each. Many advocates bring lived experience—including former gang members and parents who once lost custody of their children—making them uniquely equipped to walk alongside families in crisis.

Both Bruce and Walderns believe that integrating a violence reduction strategy called Group Violence Intervention (GVI) with the tools of the 100 Families Initiative could transform Pulaski County.

Like the 100 Families Initiative, GVI is built on collaboration—law enforcement, prosecutors, community moral voices, and service providers all come together to identify individuals most at risk of committing violence. Those individuals are given a clear message: “We’ll help you if you let us, we'll stop you if you make us."

Pine Bluff, a nearby city in Jefferson County, went more than 540 days without a juvenile homicide after implementing GVI. Bruce and Walderns see that success as proof it can work in Pulaski County, too.

Despite the grim statistics, both leaders remain hopeful.

“Families wanting help gives me hope,” Bruce said. “Because we’ve seen the 100 Families Initiative work. We’ve seen the community wrap around families, and the outcomes are incredible.”

Walderns agreed, “Every family we serve is the next success story. That’s our hope for every single one.”