By Janiyah Gaston
Article and photos provided by the Daily Egyptian
Janiyah Gaston @janiyah_reports
The Survivor Empowerment Center formerly known as the Women’s Center, set up its Clothes Line Project outside of Faner on Tuesday, Oct. 11 to spread awareness about domestic and sexual abuse.
October is nationally recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Clothes Line Project is designed to remember victims of domestic abuse and let people who were or are abused speak out.
Different colored shirts were hung up to represent different stories: white for someone who died due to violence, yellow for survivors of domestic violence, pink, red, and orange for survivors of sexual assaults, blue and green for survivors of child abuse or incest, and purple for people who have been attacked because of their sexual orientation.
Anna Margrum, the domestic violence program coordinator, and Sarah Settles, the domestic violence house case manager, said the Survivor Empowerment Center is open to helping anyone, no matter what their age or sexual orientation, get out of an abusive situation.
“We have a shelter for folks that need a safe place to stay to come and stay, and then we also offer quite a few services such as legal advocacy. We have counseling, we have child advocacy, we have a disturbing array of services and they’re all free of charge,” Margurm said.
Although the Center is located in Southern Illinois, it will help any survivor no matter what area they come from, Margrum said.
Settles said her role is to help people who are trying to start over and get their life together after leaving an abusive situation.
“I am in charge of six different units, three houses, and three apartments, and just, depending on availability, they are allowed to stay in those places for up to two years until they get on their feet,” Settles said. “During that two years, I work with them on different things, such as getting their license, getting their life together, social security cards, birth certificates, and anything that they need that may have been taken away during their time of abuse.”
Because October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it is important to remind people this is a serious issue and can happen to someone regardless of their age, Margrum said.
“I initially experienced this here at SIU as a student years ago. […] I read the various shirts and the ones that stuck out to me most were the ones that are size 2T,” Margrum said. “Because those are indicative of child abuse and a survivor. Some of what they write on those are really graphic experiences.”
Margrum said, when she saw the Clothes Line Project for the first time, it hit close to home because she is from Carbondale, and seeing all those shirts from people in the community made her want to help.
She said this will not be the only event the center will be hosting this month. There will be a take-back-the-night rally and a pumpkin stroll.
“Our big event is going to be we have a take-back-the-night rally and candlelight vigil that’s going to be at the Pavilion in Carbondale and that’s on the 27th which is a Thursday from 5 to 8, Margrum said.
The rally will have speakers educate people about domestic abuse and violence, and there will be survivors sharing their experiences, she said.
“I know October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but just be aware that it’s prevalent all year,” Settles said.