Assistance League Provides Support Kits for Assault, Abuse Victims

In a meeting room at Fairfax County’s Sully District Station, members of the Assistance League of Northern Virginia formed an assembly line to stuff small heart pillows with trinkets and toys on March 19.

The pillows full of treats will be donated to Inova Health System and be given to children after undergoing examinations and being treated for physical or sexual abuse.

Sue Totolo, the nurse manager for Inova's Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program said the department provides forensic exams in physical and sexual assault cases for both children and adults, and then provides court testimony on behalf of the patient if needed. She said the program saw 712 patients in the last year.

Nurses in the SANE program, which is part of the Forensic Assessment and Consultation Team department, have specialized training in sexual assault. The program is available 24 hours a day, every day and on-call nurses are available at all times.

Inova treats patients at both the Fairfax and Loudoun locations. Totolo said they see patients from as far away as Culpepper and there is an additional satellite office at Ft. Belvoir.

The SANE program at Inova was the first created in Virginia, in 1991. There are now 12 in the state. Totolo said forensic nursing was not actually recognized as a specialty by the American Nurses Association until 1995.

Totolo said 35 percent of the patients they see are under 11 years old, and 30 percent are between 11-16 years old. The youngest patient they have seen was only six weeks old, she said.

Part of the job of the SANE staff is to help children who have been assaulted understand they are OK. She said many can’t fully comprehend what has happened to them and need reassurance that no one can tell what has happened to them just by looking at them.

Through the Assistance League, Inova is able to give patients what they call Assault Survivor Kits that include new clothes, including sweatpants, a sweatshirt and undergarments, since the patient’s clothing is usually taken for evidence.

Operation HUGS provides pillows to the children who are seen in the program. The pillows are heart shaped with surprises inside like small packages of crayons, small stuffed animals, matchbox cars, stickers, pencils and more.

Volunteers at Dunbarton, an active senior community in Bristow, sew and stuff the pillows, then send them to the Assistance League for stuffing and delivery to Inova.

To help with Operation HUGS, which can always use donations of small stuffed animals, such as Beanie Babies, and small toys, email ALNorthernVA@yahoo.com or visit the Assistance League of Northern Virginia online.