A large donation of clothing to St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport will be used to provide sexual assault victims with clean clothes after they undergo a sexual assault exam.
Hartford Healthcare received a large donation from the non-profit Jane Doe No More, an organization that aims to empower sexual assault survivors.
On Wednesday, dozens of bags filled with brand new clothing were donated to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport from the non-profit, to go to people who undergo sexual assault forensic exams.
Tara Flynn, an administrative assistant at St. Vincent’s and a member of Jane Doe No More, co-led the donation drive.
“Anything we can do to merge these two worlds of patient care advocates and helping survivors of sexual crimes, we’ll do it,” said Flynn.
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Flynn explained the idea came after speaking with other members of the organization who shared how difficult it was to have a sexual forensic exam done, with clothing often taken away as evidence. People are then left picking clothing from the hospital’s community clothes closet.
“If we can give them a brand-new warm outfit, a clean pair of underwear and a bra that they can leave in to have that small slither of dignity makes a big difference for their healing journey to begin,” Flynn said.
As a survivor of sexual childhood violence, the purpose behind the drive is personal for Flynn.
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“This goes beyond helping the people who get the clothes, this is helping the people who donate the clothes as well and that’s all that we’re about,” she said.
Ann Conlon, RN, a sexual assault forensic examiner with 8 years of experience, said the new clothing will allow the hospital to offer an extra level of care.
“It helps them feel more human, it helps us provide a level of compassionate care that is so meaningful after they experienced such a traumatic event,” Conlon said.
In total nearly two dozen bags of donations were collected.
Donations will be divided out between various Hartford Healthcare hospitals.
