Just thought I'd let you know I was inspired by your paragraph [in my how-to e-newsletter] to give to Haven Box.
You kinda sorta had me on "new DV charity" ... but the idea of sending a survivor home in scrubs just tore my heart to shreds.
Of course, this is the best the hospital could do (budgets!), and I honor/respect them for collecting the evidence, but it's just not good enough. Not ~ human ~ enough.
And I felt so silly for not realizing this gap in aftercare is huge for a survivor, but so easily remedied by . . . a box. A box that shows survivors that someone out there knows she/he is a person, a unique individual, a human being. Just. A. Box. But so much more.
Thanks for sharing Haven Box with us, your faithful readers. I trust you. You haven't steered me wrong yet, and sometimes you blow me away. Today was one of those days.
This is what Haven Box, a RI-based charity, founded during the pandemic has to say about its mission: "Across the United States, countless individuals experience sexual violence resulting in hospitalization. And after so many hours of being subjected to an intrusive sexual assault examination, victims are often discharged from the hospital wearing uniform scrubs or hospital gowns due to their clothing being collected for evidence."