Solidarity With Postcards

Some of the materials to make a traveling postcard.

It's not that often that a woman receiving shelter from domestic violence can connect with another woman miles away, living in a different shelter under similar circumstances. For safety reasons, women in shelter hide in the shadows, trying to remain safe from a man with out-of-control anger and violence issues. Staying safe means that the woman can't let the man know where she and the rest of the family are located. That can leave a person feeling isolated, except from those who are also in the same shelter.

That doesn't even begin to describe the hurt, the anguish, the heartbreaking decisions, the physical healing for a women and her family. Caroline Lovell has been deeply moved by the circumstances and pain of those women who suffer domestic violence. She grew up in a family with five women and experienced the strength of women together. While she has been a lifelong advocate for women to express themselves openly and fully, to say no and be taken seriously, she is also an artist, a photographer. But, how can you combine art, with women in crisis and hurting, but needing to stay safe by keeping their place of residence secret? How do you connect women under these circumstances?



The idea turned out to be postcards, created by the women who had suffered from domestic violence. The concept came in the shape of a workshop, in which the women created a portrait of their true selves, made from available materials, in the form of a postcard. What happened was art, art from the collective wisdom of women, women affected by violence, women who needed to heal. But it was more than that, too. The workshops were conducted, at first at shelters in California, then at shelters in other States. It took on the name TRAVELING POSTCARDS because the cards were shared among shelters, the voices of the women in one shelter travelling to those in another shelter, creating solidarity, reminding everyone that they were survivors. They were stronger together than they were apart.

The next step was to create TRAVELING HEART HOSPITAL BAGS. More funding allowed Caroline to provide a hospital bag that contains gently used clothing, a set of underwear, and toiletries. Many women who suffer from domestic violence make the first contact with assistance in a hospital setting, where they are treated for injuries and evidence is collected by the criminal justice system. This bag is not made from plastic, but from fabric by a group of international refugees in Tennessee, through SEW FOR HOPE. The shelters who work with Traveling Postcards provide informational materials, including information about local resources, and the women receive a custom-made postcard from one of the workshops, thus establishing a connection to other women at first contact with the system of resources.

Homemade hospital bags, made from cloth.

It's quite striking, the connection that goes from shelter to shelter, from organization to organization, from women receiving help to women needing help. It's a solidarity of women, it's a strength needed and provided. No woman who is touched by Traveling Postcards is ever alone again.

Solidarity in a postcard.

Thanks to this article from Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/caroline-lovell-shelter-to-shelter-2013-impact-grant/; and the above links.

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