Donation To Franciscan Health Michigan City Center Of Hope Provides Needed Supplies To Sexual Abuse Survivors

Thanks to a $1,000 gift card donation from the local Meijer store, Franciscan Health Michigan City officials got a chance to shop for items to help survivors of sexual abuse who come to the hospital’s Center of Hope.

Franciscan Health’s Centers of Hope are designated spaces where victims are given one-on-one trauma care by SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) nurses trained to handle sexual assault cases. In many cases, clothes and undergarments must be taken for the forensic kit from patients who are coping with a traumatic attack.

The Center of Hope emergency clothing closet stocks replacement clothing and undergarments for these patients. The $1,000 was used to purchase not only clothing, but toiletries, snacks and blankets to fill about 10 survivor care bags.

Bridegroom was joined by Franciscan Health Michigan City Vice President of Mission Integration Sister Petra Nielsen, and by adolescent behavioral health tech Zoe Braselton tech for the shopping trip, which took place last month. Ellen Mizia, retail administrative assistant for retail operations at Meijer, assisted in securing the gift and on the shopping day.

To learn more or to donate to the Franciscan Health Foundation to support the Centers of Hope, go online at www.franciscanhealthfoundation.org/programs/center-hope or call (219) 661-3401 in Northern Indiana.