Daily Herald Contributor
Prince Albert and area Royal Purple members made Thursday a memorable one by delivering over 60 purple colored care bags to the victims on intimate partner violence in the different shelters around the area.
Prince Albert Royal Purple Secretary Elaine Perkins said it was an “awesome” project to be a part of.
“This is just like Christmas every year when you guys come, Brenda Lee from the shelter told us with tears in her eyes,” Elaine Perkins, Secretary Prince Albert Royal Purple said. “It’s so gratifying and you just feel so awesome to be able to do something like that to help those that were fleeing domestic violence.”
The Purple Thursday event aims to commemorate the annual National Awareness Day on brain injury arising from intimate partner violence. Perkins said people tend to think of athletic injuries or car collisions when the issue of brain injuries arises, but intimate partner violence is a major cause.
“For every one NHL hockey player that gets concussion there are 7,000 women and girls in Canada who have concussions because of intimate partner and domestic violence,” Perkins said. “That’s scary. One in three heterosexual women suffer brain injury through intimate partner violence in their lifetime and 30-50 percent of all transgender people experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime. We are trying to stop the violence, (and) bring it to the fore front that it’s time to stop. It happens with not just women. It happens with children. It happens with men.”
Purple Thursday was commemorated across Canada by the Canadian Royal Purple, with about 4,000 care bags distributed.
“Close to 4,000 care bags were given across canada at some pretty special events,” Canadian Royal Purple BrainLove committee chair Sandi Lougheed said.
“It’s really, really very special when the care bags come,” Canadian Royal Purple BrainLove committee chair Sandi Lougheed said. “For some of the people in the shelters they would have left their homes with nothing other than the clothes on their backs.”
The purple care bags include personal items like shampoo, toothbrushes, and a journal to write in.
