For Immediate Release Dignity Resource Council:

     Honor Guard is the Solution to Your Dignified Showering

Brooksville, FL --The Dignity Resource Council is announcing an official release of Honor Guard, a new solution that promotes dignity, autonomy, and respect during showers for people of all ages and abilities. Showering is an intimate experience, but it also puts people in dignity-compromising positions, especially if you need assistance in order to shower properly.

Dignity is a basic need that we all have as humans. As we age, this need does not wither. In senior living communities, an aversion to showering is often dismissed as noncompliance and combativeness. Dignity is not only applicable in the context of a shower, however, but the sheer naked and vulnerable nature of showering also makes the preservation of dignity even more essential. Helping someone in the shower breaks the boundaries of personal space.

Honor Guard is an easy-on, easy-off robe facsimile, that uses a “cover first, then remove” philosophy. This is a solution that Robin Lenart, Executive Director of the Dignity Resource Council, designed after caring for her parents. She wanted a way to shower her mother that helped her to stay covered while also allowing her to participate in the process.

The Dignity Resource Council is a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of dignity, with gracious contributors who can also provide discounted and free Honor Guards for low-income and marginalized caregivers and care recipients who might not otherwise access these products. There are 53 million and counting family caregivers who are providing unpaid care to a loved one.

Lenart completed a survey with seniors to gauge their Dignity Quotient (DQ), to see if they truly felt comfortable being naked in front of a family or professional caregiver. 88 percent of women felt uncomfortable while 58 percent of men felt uncomfortable. When asked about the choice to wear a garment that covered their private areas, 97 percent of women said that would make a difference, while 75 percent of men said that would make a difference.

Dignity comes from the Latin term “dignus” which means worthy, deserving, and meriting. It determines personal and societal worth. Giving people of any age a choice, or option in terms of being vulnerable, is invaluable. The power of choice is everything, especially when it comes to dignity and autonomy.

A 2020 study on dignity, in the Health Care for Women International journal, found that the maintenance of dignity means owning your own decisions/having a sense of control, experiencing hope and meaningfulness, and feeling valued as a whole individual. Showering, in particular, puts these cornerstones of dignity on the chopping block. Honor Guard is emerging as a solution to keep showers dignified.

When showering, the first task might be to remove all clothing. As we age, we naturally feel colder, and being naked for any amount of time in the bathroom while waiting for the water to heat up is unbearable and embarrassing especially with a caregiver, male or female. The Honor Guard uses soft, breathable, non-stick material to cover your private areas and preserve your dignity, whether you are showering alone or with the assistance of a caregiver.

For women, there is a chest shield that helps to cover their upper body during showering. There are three flaps that wrap around the waist which makes the skin easy to access while remaining covered and intact. Users can place their hands underneath the Honor Guard to clean themselves when they can, and upon getting out of the shower, there are accompanying sets of Honor Guard that absorb water so that you don’t have to shiver yourself dry with a towel before putting your clothes back on. This keeps you covered at all times before, during, and after showering to keep your clothes and dignity intact. Come meet your new birthday suit!

Press Contact

Robin Lenart

dignityrc@gmail.com

dignityrc.org

844-678-4698