body
WHEREAS, one in 200 women in the United States suffers from anorexia while three in 100 American women suffer from bulimia; and,
WHEREAS, anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness; and,
WHEREAS, launched in February 2017 during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, The Garment Project is a Pittsburgh-based non-profit that aims to empower women recovering from an eating disorder by providing them with new, size-less clothing, individualized for their healthy bodies and lifestyles; and,
WHEREAS, inspired by her own 14 year battle with an eating disorder and multiple returns home from treatment to a closet full of clothes in various sizes that no longer fit, Erin Drischler, along with her partner Jordan Tomb, wanted to be able to support other women through their recovery by removing one of the first triggers that can derail recovery; and,
WHEREAS, Garment believes that many women give the size of their clothing the power to influence their self-image; and,
WHEREAS, for the 20 million women in the U.S. struggling with an eating disorder, that power has a crippling hold over their ability to ever recover. Only one in 10 women will be lucky enough to receive treatment, which can cost up to $30,000 per month; and,
WHEREAS, Garment will partner directly with treatment centers to provide their outgoing patients with new clothing, individualized for their healthy bodies. When a woman is nearing the end of her inpatient recovery, her treatment team will communicate to Garment accurate measurements along with style and personality information; and,
WHEREAS, each woman will be given a “basics package,” including t-shirts, bras, underwear and jeans. Garment then will build an individualized shopping website for each woman so she can pick items she likes from Garment’s selection of new, never worn clothing donations; and,
WHEREAS, she will be able to pick size-less items from her own store that will best suit her new, healthy lifestyle; and,
WHEREAS, within days of their launch, Erin and Jordan were contacted for interviews by the Pittsburgh City Paper, the Pittstop Blog, and both the Tribune Review and Pittsburgh Post Gazette as well as Pittsburgh-based Rue21 with an offer to make regular donations of clothing and volunteers; and,
title
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize Erin and Jordan for their exceptional work and congratulates them on their successes thus far; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Tuesday, March 28, 2017, to be "Garment Project Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.