Clothing donations for sexual assault survivors collected in Bridgeport [Video]

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Hartford HealthCare held a donation drive in Bridgeport Wednesday to support sexual assault survivors across the Connecticut community.

“I’m a survivor of childhood sexual violence,” Tara Flynn said.

Flynn knows firsthand that memories of trauma do not fade with time, but processing the pain is the start of stepping forward.

“I was assaulted between the ages of 14 and 15 by a man double my age who was the father of the children I babysat for,” she said. “At the time, I didn’t have the words to explain what was happening to me. No one ever explained it to me.”

Now, she spends her days helping others escape their suffering.

“Us survivors tell our stories to anybody who will listen to say this isn’t right and if you’re going through that, …