Assignment 1 Part 1 ~ ~ ~Madonna's Video

As usual, I am pretty sure I went over the time limit.....something I always struggle with when writing seems to be my nemesis when speaking as well...........

Community Project

The Clothesline Project is the community program that I have decided to examine for this blog post.  Two years ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to view a local “clothesline” while attending Bristol Community College.  I was inspired by the messages of hope and determination expressed on many of the shirts that were displayed.  I was particularly interested in one section of this clothesline that had been reserved for t-shirts created by the children of domestic violence victims and survivors.  Viewing the entire project  was difficult, but this particular section broke my heart and inspired a passion deep within me to make a difference in the lives of these children.  One of my main interests within the scope of social work has always been child welfare and the effects of domestic violence on our youngest citizens, but this display reignited my drive.  

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, “witnessing violence between one’s parents or caretakers is the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next” (http://www.ncadv.org).  As a society we need to stop this cycle from being perpetuated upon our children.  The video I have included here demonstrates the depth and scope of this epidemic and the effects that domestic violence has on our children. 

The Clothesline Project began in 1990 with a modest display of 31 shirts in Hyannis, Massachusetts.  The project was initiated by a coalition of women working for domestic violence awareness on Cape Cod and the idea to present it in the form of t-shirts hanging on the clothesline belonged to a local artist, Rachel Carey-Harper, who was inspired by visual impact of the AIDS quilt.  There are four purposes to the project and they include: bearing witness to the survivors and the victims of domestic violence, fostering the healing process for these women and their families, educating and raising awareness in society tot he scope of the problem, and providing a nationwide network of support for those affected by domestic violence and the communities in which they live.  According to the organization’s website, 

It is the very process of designing a shirt that gives each woman a new voice with which to expose an often horrific and unspeakable experience that has dramatically altered the course of her life. Participating in this project provides a powerful step towards helping a survivor break through the shroud of silence that has surrounded her experience.  (Clotheslineproject.org, 2011)

The intent here is to allow women to tell their stories using their own words or artwork, allowing for some healing to occur.  This project does not seek to explore the root causes of domestic violence, but rather to give voice to those living in silence who are affected by the problem.  It was also the intent of the initial coalition to transform the horrifying statistics associated with domestic violence into an educational opportunity and healing tool.  Although this particular project does not focus on the cause of violence against women, I personally feel that our current economic crisis will continue to have an incredible impact on the increase in domestic violence today.  As  more people face unemployment, losing their homes, and increased costs of living, pressures will build in families and inevitably could give way to an increase in battering and abuse.  As mentioned in the Homan text, if we view economic struggles as one of the sources of domestic violence, "then community and social change strategies are our primary course" (p 75).  The Clothesline Project seeks to accomplish this task by building social awareness in regards to this issue.

         The original Clothesline Project was featured in the magazine of a non-profit agency called, Off Our Backs, but was picked up by the nationally circulated MS Magazine, changing everything for the small grassroots project.  With the backing of the Ryka Rose Foundation and the Carol Cone advertising firm, a national push was on to bring awareness to the issue and those affected by it.  The National Network of the Clothesline Project estimates that today there are more than 500 such projects in existence around the globe, involving roughly 50-60 thousand t-shirts.  Successful displays are typically part of Take Back the Night events at community sites, colleges and universities, such as Harvard, Auburn and UCLA and state houses across the country.

This community effort of the original project and others that have evolved because of it ties in nicely with the reading from the Brown text.  It is mentioned in the reading that building support within one's community must go beyond simply helping the individuals within the group (Brown, p 342). These clothesline projects that have sprung up around our country and in other countries allows these woman a chance to feel (and see) that they are not alone and that others in their communities support them.   

   

SOURCES

Brown, Michael J. (2007). Building Powerful Community Organizations: A     
     personal  guide to creating groups that can solve problems and change the
     world. Long Haul Press (pp. 335-348).

Clothesline Project. (2011). Retrieved January 22, 2012,   
     http://www.clotheslineproject.org/History.html

Homan, M. S. (2008). Relating community change to professional practice:
     Making it happen in the real world. Promoting Community Change. Belmont:
     Brooks Cole.(pp.74-95). 


http://www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet(National).pdf. Retrieved
January 21, 2012.

Introduction

Hey Everyone,
I'm Madonna......I live in Somerset, MA with my wife and 16 year old son.  It feels awesome to write that......25 years ago when I met my wife that wouldn't have been possible.....first because there were no such things as blogs, (or even the internet for that matter) but more importantly because being a lesbian woman in a committed relationship was not something that you felt safe publicizing.  For me this change has been a huge step, but when examining the "Movement(s)" for equality this is really only one small step of many that still need to be taken.  It is the need for small steps like this that inspired the name for my blog, because when you add up all of our collective small steps we can make BIG CHANGE!  
      I have spent the past 20 years teaching 4,5, and 6 yr. old children at a preschool in Middletown, RI.  While this work has been rewarding for me and I feel I have given hundreds of children a positive start on their educational journeys, I feel drawn to social work because of the daily injustices served upon hundreds of thousands of kids in our country and beyond.  Yes, child welfare is my area of interest, particularly working to strengthen families to build strong foundations for children.  This semester's topic of violence against women is very relevant to the work I have been doing at my internship at DCF.  It is mind-boggling to view firsthand the impact that domestic violence and substance abuse have on child welfare.  It is impossible to view each separately; as unique issues in need of attention - they are so intertwined in the fabric of many of the families involved with DCF.  I think that communities can play an important role in the strengthening of these families.  By removing the stigma associated with DCF involvement and providing resources in a family's community to build and strengthen their functioning, positive changes can be achieved.  There is more truth to the old saying, "It takes a village....." and working together as that village I believe we can make this world safer for our children.  If I could solve one major social problem it would be to make sure each child in the United States has a family to call their own.  There are so many people out there who would love to offer a home to some of these children, but in some states there are still laws banning families from forming as a result of the potential parents sexual orientation.  So many kids are lost in our foster care system and upon aging out have no one to turn to, no one to care about them......they spend much of their childhood under the state's care and then are basically left to navigate the world on their own.  Not too many parents I know would do that to their own children, yet the state as a "parent", does it over and over again.
    This semester I hope to continue to grow as an advocate for women and children.  I am hoping to learn new ways that I can make a difference, to build a tool box of skills that I can rely on in my future work.  Macro practice is somewhat new to me, but I am excited to get my feet wet in this area.......I was able to test the waters a bit last semester (with a trip to Occupy Boston, attending a meeting of the new Social Justice Institute here at BSU and marching at World Aid's Day) and was pleased with the feeling of purpose I felt.  I was initially hesitant with the online format of this class, due to some less than pleasant experiences with online classes in the past, but I decided to take a chance and be optimistic.  This class will be a success for me if I am able to interact with the other students in the class frequently.  My past experiences have left me frustrated when students wait until the last minute to complete assignments that required my input...... the give and take between student and instructor and student and student is what I enjoy most about being in classes.  I am hopeful this will be able to be achieved within this format.....I think we all have so much to teach each other!  
    For me, having fun often involves being outside.  I love to take walks on cold, snowy winter nights when the world is peaceful or on warm sandy beaches at sunset.  I will wake up in the morning before everyone else, just to enjoy a beautiful sunrise.  I could swim for hours and I love to cook.  For me a challenge is making a terrific meal from simple ingredients one wouldn't typically put together......think CHOPPED goes low budget.  Something no one knows about me but might find interesting is that I have a secret desire to be a race car driver..... but rollercoasters make me sick.  I have a secret dream of spending an entire winter on Nantucket (though I've never been) and writing.....what I will write I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure I would write something fantastic! Of course since I fancy myself an amateur photographer I would of course document all of it with my Nikon.  I'm not sure I can come up with one more thing that is interesting about me.....I guess I don't really find myself terribly interesting......I'm just a regular, down-to-earth person living a regular everyday kind of life.  However, if I were granted a super power, I think I would want to be able to clone myself so I could accomplish everything I want to do without sacrificing my time with my family.  My realistic dream job would be continuing to work with DCF, but my secret dream job would place me in the manager's office at Fenway Park!  I would love to be the manager of the Boston Red Sox........what better way to spend a spring and summer (and hopefully early fall) than putting together a winning team igniting the passion within Red Sox Nation?