Margaret came to a Willow Domestic Violence Awareness event last year and discovered, through the speeches and conversation she encountered, that she was indeed a victim of domestic violence and not just a few unfortunate isolated incidents.
Kelly came and learned that her daughter was in more danger than they previously believed, after hearing about the Lethality Assessment and how The Willow can help survivors statistically determine their danger level by answering just a few yes or no questions.
Victor came and learned how to use his privilege for good, what power and control looks like, and he became a monthly donor to The Willow's prevention efforts.
Today marks the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) 2019.
Although we work hard year round to bring awareness to the epidemic of domestic violence in our community, this is a time where we concentrate especially and ask the community take a moment to learn, speak up, and be involved.
This year, The Willow is grateful to have partnered with The Lawrence Arts Center for a DVAM campaign called "Art Heals" through a grant from the Kansas Arts Commission. While we never minimize the pain and trauma that domestic violence causes to families, individuals, and communities, we want, for this moment, to talk about healing. We know that for many survivors, finding their words, sharing stories, and processing the pain through creating art makes a tremendous difference. Survivors tell us art allows them to move past judgement, break silence, and build hope.
We hope that our Art Heals weekend at The Lawrence Arts Center will not only shed light for the community on our collective domestic violence problems, but will allow survivors to be heard, their voices to be lifted, and all of our lives to be changed for the better.
The Art Heals weekend will be October 25 and 26th and will include a Final Friday exhibition of survivor art, a documentary movie screening, as well as workshops on writing your memoir, poetry, social justice stitching, and paper art with local artists.
The weekend will culminate with a community concert called "Speak out/Sing out" featuring many local artists and community choirs. It will be a powerful night and an opportunity to share as a community in the healing process. Domestic Violence is not a private issue. It may happen behind closed doors, but it is very much a community issue. We hope that this weekend will be a time for our community to be involved, share in solutions, and find a path to healing.
Art, indeed, does heal. Please join us.