News  Probation drive provides comfort items for victims of crime

Above, left to right: Assistant Statewide Manager of Victim Services Courtney Bacon, Statewide Manager of the Victim Services Unit Corinn Crowninshield, Victim Services Coordinators Zoe Nardone and Cara Greblick, Commissioner of Probation Pamerson Ifill, Victim Services Coordinators Mary Nugent, Keira Hom, Erin Beech, Abigail Ford, Lindsey Maxwell, Tara Howard, and Jennifer Scott

The Victim Service Unit’s Project PACK drive collected hundreds of items which were donated to local hospitals and provided to patients who are victims of crime. Twenty courts across the state and the Massachusetts Probation Service Training & Operations Center (MTOC) served as collection sites.

Project PACK is a nonprofit organization that donates Post Assault Comfort kits to hospitals which then provides them to sexual assault victims. The kits contain socks, undergarments, tissues, and toiletries such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, and deodorant.

“I am so very thankful to our amazing staff who participated in the Project PACK drive to honor April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Victim Rights Month. We donated items to victims and survivors to use during one of the most challenging times of their lives. The MPS staff continues to make a difference in the lives of victims and survivors of crime,” said Corinn Crowninshield, VSU Statewide Manager.

Tamara Dzialo, Founder of Project PACK, thanked MPS: “We are so grateful for your support and couldn’t do it without kindness such as yours. We have been lucky enough to partner with the Massachusetts SANE program since 2006. We are very excited about their current expansion making our PACKs and their exceptional treatment of sexual assault survivors available in more hospitals across the state. With this expansion comes a greater need for donated items which makes your collection drive for Sexual Assault Awareness Month even more powerful. Thank you for helping to comfort survivors during those difficult first moments. We are truly grateful.

In addition to organizing the drive, VSU staff also participated in several activities in observance of Victim Rights Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, including attending the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA) Victim Rights Month Awards at the Massachusetts State House with Commissioner Pamerson Ifill. VSU staff attended MOVA’s webinars and participated in other events across the state.

MOVA recognized VSU Coordinator Jennifer Scott for a decade of service in victim advocacy. Ms. Scott was honored virtually during a social media campaign conducted by (MOVA). She is one of nine coordinators across the state who assist victims of crime.

Thanks to the following sites for hosting donation boxes:

• MTOC
• Chicopee District Court
• Brockton District Court
• Plymouth District Court
• Essex Superior Court
• Hampshire Superior Court
• Springfield District Court
• Worcester Superior Court
• Suffolk Superior Court
• Bristol Superior Court
• Cambridge Juvenile Court
• Norfolk Juvenile Court
• Middlesex Probate and Family
• Middlesex Superior Court
• Chelsea District Court
• Quincy District Court
• Greenfield District Court
• Bristol Probate Court
• Plymouth Clerk’s Office
• West Roxbury Court