EP. 31: Lara & Hayley | Layers of Dignity

Lara and Hayley, the founders of Layers of Dignity, and I chat about how they began donating totes full of clothing and other items to emergency rooms and advocacy centers to be given to sexual assault survivors immediately after evidence collection.  We chat about Layers mission to provide hope and connection for survivors, so they know they are not alone.

4:46 Hayley shares about Layers of Dignity(what it is, what they do, etc.)

Tote bag includes:

• Brand new outfit
• Toiletries
• Resources
• Love note from another survivor

7:14 Lara shares about how the anger they experienced following Hayley's assault turned to righteous anger, which led to Layers of Dignity

"This anger, it's there, it's purposeful, it makes sense, it is allowed to be there. It [sexual assault] is a thing that is wrong. It is something God weeps over. The anger can happen, but if you just stay there it can get dangerous real quick.  Moving it into a righteous anger almost definitely means there is going to be some kind of positive action. We came up with the idea to give clothes to the hospital..."

Vintage Church has been a huge support.

10:05 Hayley shares about their first delivery and how Layers has spread to other hospitals and advocacy centers

InterAct of Wake County

12:02 1 in 6 women will experience a sexual assault or attempted assault in their lifetime. 98% of women will experience symptoms of PTSD during the two weeks after an assault and 1 in 10 sexual assault survivors are male.

Hayley discusses how Layers of Dignityis helping to decrease that 98% experiencing PTSD

"One of our main missions and goals is to be a catalyst for hope and redemption as early as possible and part of that is creating a community. Going through that [assault] is/has been the darkest time in my life and even though I had the best support system....Even though you are totally surrounded, you still feel the loneliest you've ever felt, so I think if you can create a place where you feel known there can be less of that loneliness, which hopefully will lead to less depression, anxiety, and hopefully bring that trauma to a place where it can be dealt with early on."

13:23 They share about the notes included in each tote from a sexual assault survivor

SHOW NOTES continued

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SPONSOR: Hope Threads 

This organization was founded by moms in north Raleigh, who have been inspired and motivated to join with highly resilient and talented refugees as they learn English, and develop marketable skills to support their families. These women come from countries with political turmoil, where they had to fight for the safety of their families. They’ve been given the opportunity to come to the United States and the challenges still exist, though they’ve changed face. Their children are generally thriving in school, though they lack the language skills to understand what’s being said in parent teacher conferences….or to know how to get their children proper medical care in the maze of a medical system. 

Multiple barriers exist that prevent these women from traditional employment opportunities, as most of them do not have cars to get them to work, the finances to pay for childcare, or the language skills to communicate and advocate for themselves. Hope Threads was born out of relationships formed over years of serving these women by teaching them English or caring for their children as they learn.  They are graciously hosted by North Ridge Bible Chapel and have virtually no overhead costs, as volunteers teach sewing skills and care for children in a gospel centered children’s program. 

You can find them online at hope-Threads.com or on Instagram at hope.threads.

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