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, intimate partner violence and other victims of gender based violence share their stories on t-shirts hung in a public place to bear witness and educate the general public.
Heartly House and Frederick Secular Humanists (FRESH) are sponsoring a Clothesline Project to be displayed Thursday, April 10, 2025 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 libraries and other locations 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.
Public T-Shirt Making Sessions:
| March 1 | 11:00 – 7:00 p.m. | Clothesline Project at March First Saturday |
| March 4 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Walkersville Branch Library |
| March 5 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Thurmont Regional Library |
| March 11 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Myersville Branch Library |
| March 18 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Emmitsburg Branch Library |
| March 24 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Brunswick Branch Library |
| March 25 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Urbana Branch Library |
| March 27 | 11:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Frederick Community College
(Location TBA) |
| April 2 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Evangelical Reform United Church of Christ
15 W. Church St, Frederick, MD |
Other Locations TBA
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
Examples of 2024 T-Shirts:
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.