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People all around the world are affected by domestic abuse, sexual assault and substance use. As a result of that, places like the Lafayette House in Joplin are an important resource for people that have experienced those issues.
Senior in social work, Abbey Hubler, is collection donations for the Lafayette House, a safe haven for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and substance use disorders.
Donations include women’s winter clothing and will continue to be collected through Wednesday, Nov. 18 and can be dropped off at the Webb City Police Department and the Webb City Fire Department.
There is no cost or payment required to receive services and support from Lafayette House however to be able to do that, they need donations.
“I just like how the Lafayette doesn’t turn anyone away,” Hubler said. “They welcome women with open arms, don’t judge anyone or their situations and they just want to help women get back on their feet at no cost to them.”
Women may not have many personal items when they go to Lafayette House.
“I don’t think that women should have to go without shelter or clothing, no matter their situation and I don’t want women to feel like they don’t have anywhere to go,” Hubler said. “I’ve donated clothes to many charities, and I want to get the word out to other people to make them understand why the Lafayette House is so important to this community.”
Hubler chose to collect clothing donations for a specific reason, believing clothing to impact moods.
“For women that have gone through traumatic experiences, I think that getting new clothes can give them back their confidence because I believe that the clothes we wear affect our behavior, personality and mood,” Hubler said. “It can make you feel like a new person.”
Hubler is collecting all types of winter clothing for women at Lafayette House.
“My goal is to collect 100 clothing items,” Hubler said. “I’m collecting women’s coats, scarves, hats, gloves, hoodies, sweatshirts, sweatpants (etc.). Any clothing item that’s warm since it’s starting to get cold.”
The services that Lafayette House provides includes shelter, support, and inpatient and outpatient treatment for people with substance use disorders. It also includes services such as advocacy, support and counseling for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, childcare and other support services such as counseling, court advocacy and job training to help people get back on their feet.
“The Lafayette House is where women can go to that are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and substance abuse,” Hubler said. “They provide services such as inpatient and outpatient treatment, advocacy, support, counseling, onsite childcare and job training.”
Hubler, as a social work major, is interested in the work that Lafayette House does which is what initially made her decide to collect donations for them.
“When I was first told about this project back in August, I immediately wanted to team up with the Lafayette House because that’s one field of social work I’m interested in going in,” Hubler said.
Women’s winter clothing is especially essential as it is the weather is gradually getting colder and will continue to get colder throughout the next few months.
“When I first talked to the woman in charge of the donations department, I asked her what main things they needed, whether it was nonperishable food items, or toiletries,” Hubler said. “She said winter clothing of all sizes since so many women come and leave the Lafayette House so frequently.”