The project will run through Oct. 24, according to a joint press conference between Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck, Artemis Center Clinical Director Bernadette Rieger and Dayton Police Major Brian Johns and Sgt. Roberta Bailey.
In particular, the project is asking for new hats, gloves and socks, though the agencies are also looking for scarves and coats for both adults and children, which will be distributed to the Artemis Center and Dayton YWCA.
Sgt. Roberta Bailey, Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck, and Artemis Center Clinical Director Bernadette Rieger discuss Project Comfort. Project Comfort seeks donations of winter comfort wear for survivors of domestic violence and their children.https://t.co/kVKAP7HUql
— Dayton Police Dept. (@DaytonPolice) October 2, 2024
Donation bins will be available to the public at Dayton City Hall, the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, the Safety Building at 335 W. Third Street in Dayton, the Dayton Police’s West and East Patrol buildings and at Dayton Recreation Centers. More sites may be added.
Donors can also donate money by sending checks to the county prosecutor’s office’s Victim/Witness Division with a memo saying Project Comfort.
This is the second year of the program, which last year collected over 2,700 items that were distributed by the Dayton Artemis Center and the Dayton YWCA.
Heck said that the project was partly sparked by a large uptick in domestic violence cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that it is very important to collect these items for families affected by domestic violence during this time, especially since they may have fled their homes and been forced into the street.
He said that in 2013 the prosecutor’s office had 135 felony domestic violence indictments, and in 2023 that rose to 173 – a number which does not include the hundreds of misdemeanor cases that pass through the different county municipal courts.
Unfortunately, he added, we are on track to reach similar numbers in 2024 as last year.
“It’s so important and it’s right here in our community,” he said, asking residents to open their hearts and their pocketbooks to help those in need.
Rieger said that the Artemis Center was able to help hundreds of clients last year.
“Many survivors who come to us leave with nothing and so they aren’t able to purchase those warm clothing items for themselves or their kids,” she said.
“To be able to help our community members and those who suffer the most, it means everything,” Bailey said.
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