A Bag Filled with Hope
A handbag can hold a phone, a wallet, a set of keys, a favorite lip balm, a snack for a child, or the few things someone grabs when they have to leave quickly. A backpack can carry school papers, a stuffed animal, a change of clothes, or the small pieces of a child’s world when home no longer feels safe.
For Texas Advocacy Project, these everyday items become something more: a quiet way to connect survivors of abuse with help.
This June, Texas Advocacy Project is bringing back its annual Handbags & Backpacks for Hope campaign, collecting new purses, tote bags, diaper bags, and backpacks for women, children, and families across Texas. The campaign runs June 1 through June 30 in Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, with a goal of collecting at least 5,000 bags.
Each donated bag is sorted, prepared, and distributed through a statewide network of shelters, clinics, and crisis centers. Before it reaches a survivor, Texas Advocacy Project places a discreet tag inside with the organization’s confidential Legal Line: 800-374-HOPE. That small tag can be the beginning of something much bigger: a connection to free legal services, safety planning, and support for people experiencing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, child abuse, or human trafficking.
For someone in crisis, the legal system can feel impossible to navigate. Questions about protective orders, custody, housing, immigration, or safety can become overwhelming, especially when a person is trying to protect themselves or their children. Texas Advocacy Project works to close that gap by offering free legal and social services to survivors across the state.
That is what makes this campaign different from a simple donation drive. The bag itself matters. But what is tucked inside may be life-changing.
“A handbag or backpack may seem simple, but for someone experiencing abuse, it can represent dignity, hope, and a path toward safety,” said Heather Bellino, CEO of Texas Advocacy Project. “Through Handbags & Backpacks for Hope, every donation becomes more than just a bag, it becomes a connection to TAP’s free legal services that can help change, and even save, lives.”
In Central Texas, the campaign will help support organizations that meet survivors where they are, including Hope Alliance in Round Rock and Hill Country Crisis Council in Kerrville. Other partners across the state include For Her in San Antonio, The Family Place in Dallas, and New Friends New Life in Dallas.
Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez is also lending support to the effort. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office will host a campaign kick-off event on Monday, June 8, at 10 a.m.
“Handbags & Backpacks for Hope is about making sure survivors across Texas receive access to critical resources and know they are supported during what is likely one of the hardest moments of their lives,” Hernandez said. “This program allows our community to join us as we help survivors stay safe and build a stable tomorrow for themselves and their families.”
For East Austinites, the ask is simple: donate a new bag, host a collection drive, volunteer to help sort and prepare donations, or make a monetary gift to help cover shipping and outreach costs. Businesses, neighborhood groups, churches, schools, and friend groups can all take part.
The campaign is only accepting new purses, tote bags, diaper bags, and backpacks. This year, Texas Advocacy Project is not collecting school supplies to include inside the backpacks.
The beauty of Handbags & Backpacks for Hope is that it turns something ordinary into a tool for safety. A new tote picked up while running errands. A backpack added to an online cart. A diaper bag donated by a parent who knows how much there is to carry. Each one becomes a reminder that someone is not alone.
And for a survivor beginning again, that reminder can mean everything.
To donate, volunteer, host a drive, or find a drop-off location, visit texasadvocacyproject.org/handbags-backpacks-hope
