Bellevue Legal News: Seattle Divorce & Domestic Violence Lawyer

Bremerton Volunteers Collect Jewelry For Domestic Abuse Victims

In many cases, domestic abuse victims need more than shelters and counseling – they need to feel a little sparkle. To help women regain themselves and life fuller lives in the wake of domestic abuse, the Kitsap Women’s Shelter Jewelry Project collects and distributes used pieces to the women who need them most.

Jane Martin, a local jewelry maker herself, started the domestic abuse victim jewelry project after hearing about a similar project in Seattle, in which used and donated rings, bracelets, and necklaces were assessed, cleaned, fixed, and given to women who may not have another opportunity to find such pieces themselves. The jewelry is collected in boxes in local businesses around Bremerton and then distributed – while some women are able to give jewelry they don’t wear to a good cause, other women are given a chance to own an item that she otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

Some of the domestic abuse victims who are recipients of the jewelry say they had to leave behind everything when they escape their violent living situations – including their jewelry boxes. Others say that their abusers never gave them gifts. Still others say that their only piece of jewelry, their wedding ring, represents an unhealthy time in their lives.

Even the jewelry that isn’t good enough to give to the shelter women is used – some is recycled for parts while some is given to local art students. Some more expensive pieces are sold, with the proceeds going to support job training classes for the domestic abuse victims.

Read More About Bremerton Volunteers Collect Jewelry For Domestic Abuse Victims...

back to top