New River Valley Times

Students, faculty, and industry partner to enhance lifesaving backpacks

A handful of Hokies are helping others carry their worlds on their shoulders.Six third-year industrial design students spent a recent Friday helping UTS Systems LLC manufacture 50 military-grade backpacks that will be given to people struggling with substance use disorder and housing insecurity in Roanoke.“This is going to be a game-changer for people. … I’m blown away,” said Lisa Via, manager of the Council of Community Services’ Drop-In Center North in Roanoke. “Their lives are in those backpacks, and the students have taken great strides to make sure that population is going to be served by this.”A collaborative design between the students and the company, the waterproof bags include an attached waterproof tarp with grommets that allow it to be hung up to provide shelter. The bags also come with personal hygiene supplies, seasonal clothing, information about community resources, and medical kits designed by the students. The latter includes Narcan, a nasal spray version of the opioid overdose reversal drug, Naloxone, which is provided with required training.“I always knew I wanted to use design to help people,” said Ashley Greene, an industrial design student. “And I was always interested in medical care, and I’ve always loved soft goods and fabrics, so this was just the perfect opportunity.”A part of the Connection 2 Care project, the bags will be distributed by the Drop-In Center North and the Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition later this month. In January, the students, alongside supervising faculty, will return to ask recipients for feedback on how they worked.“This was one of the first projects that we ever did where we really had to think about a whole new group of users with experiences unlike anything most of us had,” said student Dayani Harapanahalli. “You just have a whole new set of criteria and a whole new set of problems to think about, so research is a big part of the process.”

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