(Here’s some of the work I do…..)
Stability and a place to call home are not prevalent in the lives of many young women affected by homelessness in Cincinnati. They jump from one place to another: couch-surfing at friend’s or family members’ homes, living in shelters, or even on the streets. But during a program offered through a partnership between Women Writing for a Change and Project Connect, many of these young women discovered a sense of community they never knew before. The girls, recommended to the program by school counselors and Project Connect coordinators came together weekly during the school year with WWfaC Young Women’s and Outreach Coordinator, Dawn Koch to write about their lives, share their stories, and create community.
Each week, Dawn met with groups of girls in four schools throughout Cincinnati – Western Hills Engineering, Western Hills University, Aiken, and Woodward High Schools – for hour-long writing groups. The groups gathered each week in crowded classrooms, large and spacious conference rooms, modular units, and even science labs to write and share together. Topics covered included the themes of beauty, hope, loss, love, friendship, change, self-identity, and the girl within. The young women wrote and shared stories and poems about their every day lives as teenagers, the struggles they face as youth at risk for homelessness, and powerful tales of sexual abuse, poverty, and more. Their courage and their strength to rise above the difficult lives they lead was a powerful force that helped them not only write but openly share these painful stories.
Coming together as a community, the young women in these groups became family, learned to trust each other, discovered friendships, laughed together, and created bonds that will last far beyond the closing of these groups. Quiet and often afraid to share at first, the girls quickly learned from each other that each of them had similar stories to tell. They learned that they were not alone in their pain, anger, and sense of loss. They learned that there were others out there who were willing to listen, willing to share their stories, willing to open their hearts and let them in. The young women learned quickly the power of being heard, as each group stressed confidentiality, respect, and active listening within the circle boundaries.
In early May, the girls came together for an end of the year readaround at WWfaC. On this day, there was no division between school groups as the girls mingled, shared stories, and connected through common experience. Each young woman stood bravely at the podium to share a story or poem she had written during the school year. They talked and laughed over pizza. And they glowed with excitement as they each received a copy of the anthology of their writing: Our Stories, published by WWfaC partner, Beyond the Trees. This anthology can be viewed or purchased at our website (www.womenwriting.org) or by following this link: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2106781.
Our young women’s outreach program was also recently highlighted in the Cincinnati Enquirer and showcases the individual stories of just of few of the many young women whose lives have been changed through writing. To read the article and view a video slideshow from the May 17 online version, follow this link: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110517/LIFE/105180316/Writing-helps-students-tough-situations?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News.
Women Writing for a Change is so proud of the work we have done with the young women in these programs. Hearts have been touched, stories have been shared, voices have been raised, and lives have been changed by the power of writing together in community. We’d like to thank our partners, Project Connect and Beyond the Trees, LLC for making this work not only possible but successful. It is our hope that these programs will continue far into the future.
If you would like to contribute to this cause, please visit our website: www.womenwriting.org and click on the “donate” tab at the top of the page. You can find more information about Project Connect by calling 513-363-3300 or emailing pc@cps-k12.org. Visit Beyond the Trees at: http://www.beyondthetrees.net/
Scribble~Scrabble 
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