T-shirts around Lynchburg to serve as domestic violence reminder

Imagine clotheslines strung down Monument Terrace, hung with shirts carrying messages of strength, hope and resilience.

It’s an image that the Coalition Against Domestic Violence for the 24th Judicial District hopes to create in the coming weeks — a reminder of domestic violence’s impact in Lynchburg, said Officer Beth Hunt, project coordinator and a city police officer.

“It’s a way to come together as a community and make a stand,” Hunt said. “This is a huge problem in all communities and Lynchburg is no exception. … It affects people in the poorest communities and people in the wealthiest communities. It’s in college campuses and at high schools.

“It’s a crisis that knows no bounds.”

Hunt hopes to have thousands of T-shirts decorated and strung first at Monument Terrace, then at various locations throughout the city. But first the project needs donations of new or gently used T-shirts, paint, markers and other items.

On Sept. 24-25, community members can gather at Monument Terrace to decorate the donated shirts and hang them on the line. Similar projects have been done previously in Lynchburg on a smaller scale, Hunt said.

The shirts can be decorated with poetry, artwork, quotes and designs.

“It’s an anonymous route to share your story with others,” Hunt said.

She said both Heritage and E.C. Glass high schools and some area colleges are holding their own sessions for students to decorate the shirts.

The project began in Massachusetts in 1990 to raise awareness of violence against women.

The symbolism of the project comes in two ways: laundry is traditionally viewed as a woman’s work and in the past women typically shared conversation over backyard fences while hanging clothes on the line.

“Take an active role,” Hunt said. “Stand up and say we are not going to let this go on. It can be healing for a survivor to make a shirt, hang it on the line and walk away.”

Additional Information:

- Boxes have been set up at A.C. Moore, the Walmart on Wards Road and Lynchburg’s City Hall for donations. Items can also be dropped off at any Lynchburg fire station and at the Lynchburg Police Department.

- Community art days have been scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, where people can decorate shirts and then hang them up for display. Decorated shirts can also be dropped off those days.

- For more information, contact Officer Beth Hunt, project coordinator, at (434) 455-6070 or e-mail . The Lynchburg project’s Web site is cadv-24clotheslineproject.tripod.com and can be found on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/lynchburgclothesline.

- More information on the national efforts can be found at http://www.clotheslineproject.org.