“I was so surprised when I got to my room at shelter and my advocate showed me my welcome basket! I didn’t have anything and I was so worried about having to buy laundry soap and toothbrushes and toothpaste for me and my kids because I had to leave everything behind. It made me feel so welcome and taken care of. Thank you for everything!”

“Thank you so much for my beautiful welcome basket. It had everything I needed, and I was so grateful. When my advocate showed me everything and told me it was all mine to have, in that moment I felt more like a cherished guest than a client. After all the stress of fleeing and finally escaping my abuser, it meant so much to have all the necessities taken care of. Thank you for thinking of us and taking a little bit of the burden off our shoulders!”

“When I got to my room and saw the beautiful welcome basket, I felt so relieved. I knew coming into shelter was the right choice but I was worried it was going to be a sterile environment for my family. The welcome basket helped us all feel like we were home and I didn’t have to worry about how I was going to supply these things for my children.”

“I had been fleeing for a while, so getting to shelter and finally having some thing I could call ‘mine’ was incredible. Being able to do laundry and having soft, clean towels at the end of the day just added so much to my first experience of rest and safety.”

“The basket had everything I needed when I came into the shelter, and I had nothing. I left all my hygiene products behind when I fled so it was so nice to have those things when I came into shelter.”

“The welcome basket had so much useful stuff in it, and I enjoyed the calendar in there with all the beautiful pictures in it. I use the binder to write down all my important stuff. This basket is so helpful to families coming into shelter. Thank you!”

-Submitted by Liz Merker, Managing Director for Violence 11/8/21