Assemble Forensic Comfort Kits

After a forensic exam, a survivor's clothes are kept as evidence. Hospitals and advocacy centers need bagged sets of new sweats, underwear, and slides, in every size.

CategoryThe Exploited

Time3 hrs

Cost$40 per kit

ModeAlone · With a friend · With a group

KitCare Kit

The exam takes hours. At the end of it, everything she walked in wearing is in an evidence bag, and somebody has to find her something to leave in.

Too often that’s a paper gown and donated jeans in the wrong size. It should be a soft sweatsuit that fits, still tagged, that nobody else has worn.

What you'll need

New sweatpants and a zip hoodie, sizes S through 3X
New underwear and socks, in the same size range
Slide sandals in a few sizes
A soft T-shirt, a hair tie, lip balm, and a bottle of water
A cloth drawstring bag, not a plastic grocery sack

Pitfalls

New with tags, always. Nothing used goes in these bags.
Call the hospital or center first and ask which sizes they run out of. It's usually the big ones.
Soft fabric, no drawstrings at the waist, nothing that needs to go over the head tightly.
Cloth bag, not plastic. A grocery sack makes it feel like belongings, not a gift.

Printable card

Print and trim to fit the back of a gift card. (Use 4×3 inch label paper, or cut from a standard sheet.)

You didn't ask for any of this. These are yours to keep. — from a church down the street

Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. — Proverbs 31:9