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    Photo By Marcy Sanchez | Hundreds of items of clothing are donated to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center...... read more read more

    FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

    02.04.2016

    Story by Marcy Sanchez  

    William Beaumont Army Medical Center

    FORT BLISS, Texas - The American Red Cross office at William Beaumont Army Medical Center donated more than 100 items of clothing to the Sexual Harassment/ Assault Response & Prevention (SHARP) program to assist victims of sexual assault, Jan. 14.

    The donation will provide victims of sexual assault new clothes if currently worn articles of clothing are submitted as evidence in the crime.

    “When we collect evidence, the clothing may be one of the items we collect. There’s a lot of evidence that can be [found] on clothing,” said Leticia Sprinkle, Sexual Assault Medical Management Program manager at WBAMC. “We take everything that we believe may be used as evidence which may leave the patient with no clothes.”

    Before clothing was provided, victims would possibly leave the hospital in medical scrubs which presented a problem for patients wishing to keep their situation private.

    “When they come in, they’re victims and they may have their clothes taken away,” said Kimberly Darden, hospital chair for the American Red Cross at WBAMC.

    “With the clothing, they’ll have something they can wear without the stigma of ‘I was a victim.’ ”

    Due to the severity and seriousness of sexual assault/ harassment crimes, the Army launched the I. A.M. STRONG campaign, which stands for Intervene, Act and Motivate. The campaign is aimed at combatting sexual harassment and sexual assault by engaging all Soldiers in preventing sexual assault before they occur.

    “It’s important to the patients that they can recognize that we have a program in the hospital that takes their situation seriously,” said Sprinkle, who is also a forensic nurse for sexual assault victims. “Providing [victims] with clothing shows them that we care and they need [caring] at that moment.”

    According to Sprinkle, WBAMC is very dedicated and invested into having a good SHARP program. The medical center’s program ranks in the top three Army-wide.

    “Because we have a dedicated program, we don’t send our patients out to civilian hospitals,” said Sprinkle.

    “We are equipped trained and credentialed to take care of them.”

    Effects of sexual assault/ harassment can range from psychological effects such as depression and PTSD to physical effects such as eating disorders and suicide, according to the Department of Defense’s Safe Helpline, a dedicated sexual assault/ harassment support organization for the DOD community.

    “It’s not easy for [victims] because they may not want to let go of their clothes,” said Sprinkle. “It’s their choice but it is [healing] if they have something new and clean to wear.”

    The donation from the American Red Cross is the second one of its kind in recent years to help victims and the SHARP program at WBAMC.

    “I think it’s great that we can assist,” said Darden. “It’s good to be able to help out other people and help the hospital programs.”

    The SHARP program’s mission is to reduce with an aim toward eliminating sexual offenses within the Army through cultural change, prevention, intervention, investigation, accountability, advocacy/response, assessment, and training to sustain the All-Volunteer Force.

    For more information about the DOD’s Safe Helpline visit www.safehelpline.org.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 02.04.2016
    Date Posted: 02.08.2016 10:13
    Story ID: 187952
    Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US

    Web Views: 19
    Downloads: 0

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