With April known as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Shoreline Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Task Force is hosting its first-ever donation drive on Saturday, April 6 at the Guilford Community Center.

Running from 10 a.m. through 1 p.m., the event will benefit the Women & Families Center Sexual Assault Crisis Services. Guilford Women & Family Life Center (WFLC) Program Director Emily Oakes explained why it's important for residents to participate in the donation drive.

"The task force wanted to come up with a way to build community awareness around sexual assault," said Oakes.

One of WFLC's partners is the Women & Families Center, which runs the sexual assault crisis centers for New Haven and Middlesex counties. The crisis counselors often respond to an interpersonal violence victim in the hospital after the victim has had an exam.

"What the crisis counselors do is...bring a bag of a new sweat suit, socks, and some personal care items so that the person who's just had this horrible event happen to them could leave in something other than a hospital gown," said Oakes. "What sparked the [donation drive] idea is sexual assault funding has been cut in the state, so they need help...It's a great way to not only build information about the issues, but also get some items that can be helpful for people in need."

Items most in demand are new adult sweatshirts, sweatpants, and socks of all sizes for both men and women and travel-sized, non-alcohol, and unscented personal care items. The donations will be put in "care kits" distributed in local hospitals to survivors of sexual assaults.

The task force consists of organizations and non-profit agencies across the shoreline, including BH Care Center for Domestic Violence Services, Branford Early Childhood Collaborative, Branford Police Department, Guilford Police Department, Guilford Social Services, Guilford Youth & Family Services, Madison Police Department, Madison Senior Services, Madison Social Services, Madison Youth & Family Services, VNA Community Healthcare, and Women & Families Center (Meriden and Guilford)

Local members will hand out information and share ideas on how the community can continue to help in the future.

According to the WFLC website, www.womenandfamilylife.org, nearly one in five Connecticut residents, or 19 percent, have experienced a sexual assault sometime in their lifetime. More than one in four, 26 percent, of Connecticut women are sexual assault survivors and 10 percent of Connecticut men are sexual assault survivors.

"A number of our participating organizations will have tables with lots of information and residents and come in and drop off things to us," Oakes said.

The donation drive will be held on the second floor in the Quonnipaugh Room. To learn more about this event, visit www.womenandfamilylife.org.