According to the CDC, Approximately 1 in 10 teenagers have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by someone they’re dating in the last 12 months.
These experiences leave a mark on an individual and on a community, yet these stories, because of their sensitive nature, are rarely told. Using the anonymous model provided by the Facing Project, we will shine a light on a reality too many of our teens are facing daily.
Here’s how it works:
Writers in the Muncie community are matched with someone facing teen dating violence–the storyteller. This could be a teen, a parent of a teen, a teacher, a therapist, a counselor, or someone who has faced teen dating violence in the past. The writer will meet with the storyteller and then write a story as if they are them, writing in the first person. We’ll work with our community partners to collect these stories and facilitate the relationship between writers and storytellers. The stories will be compiled in a book to be released at a community monologue event (details to come).
(photo by martinak15 Flickr Creative Commons)