Recently, I met with a remarkably brave young mother at one of the courthouses. She is a domestic abuse survivor who, during her young life, has become all too well acquainted with the foster care system and a series of teen homeless shelters. All she wants in life is to be a good mother to her young son, but her boyfriend over the last two and a half years has been physically and verbally abusing her. It was obvious as we started our meeting that the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

At the conclusion of our visit, I mentioned that I had something in my car for her. I had grabbed a lovely, red purse filled with feminine hygiene products, cosmetics, chocolate and comfort items that had been donated to New Hope for Women just three days beforehand via the Purse Project. When I passed it to her and explained what was in it, she started to cry. Not only was she grateful for the offering, but she revealed to me that she had been to the supermarket prior to our meeting and had to choose between buying food for her son and feminine products for herself, as her period was due to arrive the following day. The look of gratitude and relief that radiated over the young mother's face is one that I will never forget.

Thank you to Rhonda Nordstrom of RHEAL Day Spa and Sharon Hobson, organizers and facilitators of the Purse Project. It is truly remarkable and touches our clients in ways we often don't understand, until after we hand out the purses. Your efforts are changing our clients’ lives, one purse at a time.

Sarah Sherman is an advocate at New Hope for Women which offers support to people affected by domestic violence, dating violence and stalking in Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties.