RMHC Hygiene Bag Project

Essentials for the Journey Ahead

Every day, staff at Range Mental Health Center (RMHC) meet people in moments of change, someone leaving detox or treatment, finding housing after homelessness, or starting over after crisis. These are powerful turning points, but they often come with few belongings and little stability. A simple gesture, something as small as a clean pair of socks, a toothbrush, or a blanket, can restore dignity and comfort when it’s needed most.

The Essentials for the Journey Ahead campaign will provide Hygiene Bags filled with meaningful items that meet both practical and emotional needs. Each bag will include a small blanket, hat, gloves, socks, underwear, and personal hygiene items such as shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, and body wash. Everything will be packed in a discreet, functional backpack that clients can carry and use long after the items are gone.

Our goal is to raise $3,000, enough to assemble 200 Hygiene Bags, providing approximately four months of support across RMHC’s detox, treatment, and housing programs. Each bag costs about $15, but its impact goes far beyond the contents. For someone stepping out of treatment or sleeping outdoors, it means having something that belongs to them, something clean, warm, and given with care.

Why It Matters

RMHC serves individuals and families across northern Minnesota who are facing complex challenges, mental illness, substance use, homelessness, and trauma. We believe that healing begins with connection and compassion, and that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, no matter where they are in their recovery journey.

When someone receives a Hygiene Bag, it’s not just about the items inside. For many, that small act of kindness becomes a first step toward stability, hope, and trust in the support systems around them.

Where the Bags Will Go

Hygiene Bags will be distributed through RMHC programs including:

• Detox and Crisis Services: for clients entering or leaving care who often arrive with few or no personal belongings.
• Residential and Outpatient Treatment: supporting individuals in early recovery who may be transitioning between programs or housing.
• Supportive Housing and Outreach: for clients moving into new housing or living unstably in the community.

Staff have shared that many clients leave detox or treatment in cold weather, without hats or gloves, or move into apartments with nothing more than the clothes they arrived in. By providing a bag that includes both hygiene essentials and items for warmth, we help meet immediate needs while showing that someone cares.

How You Can Help

Every contribution makes a difference.

• $15 provides one complete Hygiene Bag.
• $30 supports two individuals.
• $75 provides for five clients taking their next step forward.

Together, we can ensure every person served by RMHC has access to Essentials for the Journey Ahead, the basic items that help turn survival into stability and isolation into hope.

A Community of Care

This project began as a simple idea from staff who saw a daily need, clients leaving treatment or entering housing with almost nothing of their own. It quickly grew into a shared effort of compassion and community. The response from our team has been overwhelming: they know firsthand that a small gesture can have a profound impact.

Join Us

Every journey begins with one step. By supporting the RMHC Hygiene Bag Project, you become part of that first step for someone moving toward recovery, stability, and self-worth. Join us in providing Essentials for the Journey Ahead and showing that simple acts of care can change lives.