Heartly House and Frederick Secular Humanists, with support from the Children’s Advocacy Center and the Frederick Center, are sponsoring a Clothesline Project to be displayed Thursday, April 11, 2024 at Hood College prior to Heartly House’s Take Back the Night rally. FRESH and Heartly House are hosting public t-shirt making sessions at each branch of the library throughout the months of March and April. Shirts and limited art supplies will be available, or participants are welcome to bring their own shirt or supplies.
The Clothesline Project is an effort to raise public awareness about sexual and intimate partner violence. Started in 1990 with 31 shirts hung in Massachusetts, the project has been repeated across the country and the world. Survivors (or friends of survivors) of rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse, incest and intimate partner violence share their stories on t-shirts hung in a public place to bear witness and educate the general public.
Public T-Shirt Making Sessions:
| March 19 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Walkersville Branch Library |
| April 2 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Urbana Regional Library |
| April 3 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Brunswick Branch Library |
| April 4 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Emmitsburg Branch Library |
| April 6 | 11:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Frederick First Saturday; Carroll Creek Park |
| April 10 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Evangelical Reform United Church of Christ;
15 West Church St. Frederick, MD 21701 |
Notes:
- Please use only first names or initials when disclosing perpetrators or survivors
- Shirts can be any color
- Shirts can be made privately and mailed to: Heartly House, P.O. Box 857 Frederick, MD 21705
- All survivors are welcome to participate regardless of gender or gender identity
Participating organizations:
Since 1979, Heartly House has been the only organization in Frederick County, MD that provides comprehensive services, free of charge, to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, human trafficking, and child abuse.
Frederick Secular Humanists is a social and advocacy group in Frederick, Maryland for atheists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers, and the otherwise “unchurched.” Our primary purpose is to provide a community for secular persons in the Frederick area. FRESH is a chapter of Washington Area Secular Humanists, which serves the secular community from Southern Maryland to Southeastern VIrginia.
The Child Advocacy Center of Frederick County is a child-friendly facility where professionals from its various partnering agencies and disciplines (multidisciplinary team) support the child and family through the investigative process of reporting and prosecuting abuse and the therapeutic process of healing from abuse. Specialized services are based on referrals from themultidisciplinary team and include investigation coordination, child forensic interviews, forensic medical examinations, advocacy, and trauma-focused therapy.
Founded in 2012, The Frederick Center is a 501c3 organization that serves the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) communities. Since its inception, The Frederick Center has grown into a well-respected organization advocating and supporting our community which now proudly bolsters over 13 support programs and monthly social events. The Frederick Center runs Frederick Pride every June, which hosted over 30,000 attendees in 2023.