Mar 29, 20212 min read

What is Project PACK?

Content Warning: Sexual Assault

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced sexual abuse in their lifetime. Members of the LGTBQ+ community are also at a higher risk to be sexually assaulted. As a former college student and RA, I've had the statistics memorized for years. I also just finished reading Chanel Miller's memoir Know My Name, which tells her story of surviving Brock Turner's assault and its aftermath. In her book, she describes the grueling process of getting a Sexual Assault Evidence done. If you'd like to read more (and also hear her inspiring story), I highly recommend this book because she is a gifted writer and personal hero of mine.

What Chanel went through in the hospital just hours after she was assaulted is hard to read. The procedure is necessary, but incredibly invasive and uncomfortable. This is what thousands of people go through after surviving one of the most difficult events of their lives.

Project PACK, which standards for Post Assault Comfort Kit, is a non-profit organization that provides comforting items to survivors of sexual assault. These items are essentials like underwear (as this is often taken by investigators as evidence) and a toothbrush. Small things like this can help a survivor feel cared for in back in control of their own bodies.

Donating to this organization is super easy! They have a wishlist on Amazon where you can send things directly to them. If you're on a budget, that's okay, too. One year, I found many travel sized toothpastes from the dentist, chapsticks from clubs on campus, and coupons for PINK underwear. If anyone is looking to do it the "spring cleaning" way and ship them on your own, feel free to send me a message and I can provide you with the address.

Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2Q0UN8IMU9DSO?ref_=wl_share&fbclid=IwAR3rlpVXvvEY1Cv4xzcSZigpIg1i5gMjulzSizLFGOd-SyaHOFfg7cFK4b8