A Virtual Welcome to the 8th Annual Survivor Stories Project
From Deputy Director, Sherry Edwards
Caring Unlimited started The Survivor Stories Project in 2013 to raise awareness about domestic violence, increase understanding of survivors' experiences, honor the strength and resilience that helps survivors to move forward in the face of seemingly insurmountable, and often contradictory, challenges. At Caring Unlimited, we are honored to hear stories like these daily. We sought to create a venue to share them with the community so that all may bear witness to the courage we are privileged to see.
The stories are written by people in our own community and are presented anonymously in their own words. Through this anonymous presentation we acknowledge that survivors walk among us every day, most often without our knowledge, and that the story you hear could be written by your neighbor, your friend, your hairdresser, your doctor; the possibilities go on and on. Survivors are people like you: living, working, raising children; hoping for peaceful lives free from fear and harm. Knowing who the story comes from isn't what's important, it's the content and shared humanity of the story that carries the impact.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu teaches that justice demands three things: that the truth of the injustice be told, that the harm be repaired to whatever extent humanly possible, and that the conditions that gave rise to the injustice be forever altered. The Survivor Stories Project seeks to address this quest for justice by making space for voices not often heard, and allowing the truth to be told, no matter how difficult. We believe that your listening- and this year, your reading- along with your nonjudgmental support, creates an atmosphere of healing and helps begin to repair the harm done.
Changing the conditions that keep people trapped in domestic abuse and violence is the work of the community. Shifting our culture from one where dominance, power, and control in relationships are valued to one where equality, compassion, and joy are valued is possible. Our collective culture is continually created by each of us through our thoughts, our words, and our actions. We call for kindness, respect and grace with one another. We all deserve to have those things from the people we love. We also ask for accountability, not from systems so much as from one another, so that responsibility for harm done rests squarely on the shoulders of those who perpetrate that harm, and is removed from those to whom it is directed and from those who seek to overcome it.
This year's Survivors Stories Project will begin Monday, October 5 here and on Facebook. A new story will be shared every Monday in October. Follow us and share our posts. We are grateful to have you be a part of this enlightening, inspiring, and powerful event.