As the federal government shutdown continues, organizations helping some of Arkansas's most vulnerable people could lose funding.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — As the federal government shutdown continues, organizations helping some of Arkansas's most vulnerable people could lose funding.

Domestic violence shelters, child abuse programs, and other victim advocacy groups in Arkansas are awarded millions of dollars in federal grant money each year – funding they won’t have access to until the government reopens.

The Central Arkansas Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children – a support group for friends and family members of homicide victims – relies on a Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant to cover a majority of its operating expenses.

“We are part of the aftermath. We're the ongoing emotional support because there's no such thing as closure after you find your child's body,” Amy Stivers, a victim advocate for Parents of Murdered Children, said.

Stivers’ 18-year-old daughter, Danick Adams, was murdered outside a Jacksonville fitness center in 2008. The case remains unsolved.

“For the past ten years, I've been one of those people that would've just been left out there with nowhere to go, but I found Parents of Murdered Children and it pretty much has saved my life,” Stivers said.

Stivers is concerned about how the government shutdown could affect the organization’s ability to serve its clients across the state.

“The government shutdown definitely will impact us,” she said.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) is responsible for distributing funds from VOCA and other grants to recipients. While federal employees are furloughed, DFA can’t access the funds for distribution, according to an agency spokesperson.

As Parents of Murdered Children looks to other funding sources, Little Rock police officers stepped up. On Friday, the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) donated $1,000 to the group to help through the uncertain times.

“It’s just something we felt that was important for us to do for the community, and they also help us so we wanted to help them,” Officer Ronnie Morgan, president of the Little Rock FOP, said.

Amid worries of how the organization will survive without government funding, Stivers said she is hopeful other groups and individuals will step up to help.

“If we could just have certain people give us money monthly and yearly and could be part of Parents of Murdered Children then the government shutdown wouldn't be that big of a deal,” she said.