More than 2,200 winter clothes items collected for domestic violence survivors during Project Comfort

“This initiative aims to collect winter comfort wear for domestic violence survivors and their children,” said Dayton police Sgt. Roberta Bailey.

Donation bins were placed 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 for the public to submit items.

Donors were also able to send monetary donations via checks to the county prosecutor’s office’s Victim/Witness Division.

More than 2,200 items were collected this year, including:

“It’s unbelievable,” Bailey said during a press conference in October. “To be able to help our community members and those who suffer the most, it means everything.”

Project Comfort coincided with Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said the initiative was partly inspired by an increase in domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

“We still see an enormous amount of domestic violence cases that go through my office every day,” Heck said.

Last year over 2,700 items were collected during Project Comfort, helping hundreds of survivors in the region.

“Many survivors who come to us leave with nothing, so they aren’t able to purchase those warm clothing items for themselves or their kids. Or maybe because of emotional and financial abuse that they’re experiencing they aren’t able to purchase those items,” said Artemis Center Clinical Director Bernadette Rieger. “This was really impactful to the survivors that we serve every day.”

Artemis helped a client who said she previously didn’t leave her abuser around the holidays because she wanted to be able to give her kids Christmas gifts and warm clothes for the winter, Rieger said.

“This year she was able to leave, and we were collectively able to help her with those items,” she said. “We want to say thank you to the community, Sgt. Bailey and Mr. Heck. This program has been really helpful.”