Every year, Caring Unlimited engages in Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) programming alongside the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence (MCEDV) and the other Domestic Violence Resource Centers (DVRCs) across the state. This year, MCEDV honed in on the question, “What does safety really mean?”

We ask that question every time we engage with a new client, because safety means so many different things for each person. Everyone who has experienced domestic abuse or violence has a complex story, and that context is essential when an advocate works with a client on safety planning and taking steps towards freedom from abuse.

But how often does the public get to hear stories from survivors of domestic abuse in their own words? Trained advocates work with survivors and hear their stories every day. Once a year, Caring Unlimited strives to share these stories with a broader audience through an evening of storytelling in a safe and compassionate setting.

The Survivor Stories Project, which was created 9 years ago at Caring Unlimited, is back in person again this year to do just that. Our hope is that when folks attend the Survivor Stories Project, they will gain a deeper understanding of the strength that survivors employ when seeking safety, and the complexities that any individual’s story may contain. This event is powerful and uplifting, and is particularly enlightening for people who have never worked in the field before and who seek to gain a better understanding of what a survivor really goes through.

REGISTER TO ATTEND THE 9TH ANNUAL SURVIVOR STORIES PROJECT

Leading up to the event, survivors of domestic abuse or violence anonymously submit written accounts of what happened and how they felt as they experienced abuse, then Caring Unlimited pairs a volunteer reader with each story. On the night of the event, the volunteer readers speak the survivors’ stories out loud. Through this anonymity, we are reminded that domestic violence can happen to anyone.

This year, folks are welcome to join us in person* or virtually on Thursday, October 28, 2021 at 6 pm. The in person event, which will occur at the Saltwater Vineyard Church in Biddeford, Maine, will be prepared with advocates to support attendees if they need to talk to someone during or after the story sharing. The virtual event will be streamed on Zoom for folks who wish to join from home.

This year, we are also excited to introduce a series of Survivor Stories Project videos, which offer shortened versions of the stories that folks can watch any time. Watch all of these videos on our Vimeo by clicking each direct link below.

WHEN I WAS SIX

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

An excerpt from IN THIRTEEN YEARS

*In person event subject to change.