To Write Love on Her Arms

[Mel]

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 4 (October 2009).

To Write Love on Her Arms
by Katrina

October's Cause of the Month is To Write Love on Her Arms, another cause close to the hearts of the large majority of TeenHelp users. As a group of young people, many of whom have struggled with self harm and addiction ourselves, we are truly able to connect with such a modern, accepting movement of love:

"You were created to love and be loved. You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story. You need to know that your life matters."

This movement was created by Jamie Tworkowski and a group of his closest friends upon taking in Renee Yohe after she was rejected from a rehab center for being too great a risk. "She has known such great pain; haunted dreams as a child, the near-constant presence of evil ever since." After getting to know Renee for a few days and a few nights and metaphorically writing love on her arms, Jamie and his friends decided to start selling t-shirts to pay for Renee's treatment. They began a Myspace page with their story and began hearing from people all over the world struggling through similar things. Renee struggled through many hardships from self injury to addiction, but she is not a victim of these things; she is a survivor. For the full story, please visit this page: http://www.twloha.com/vision/story/. Today, Renee is doing much better and often travels with the TWLOHA gang to tell her story and encourage young people to reach out for help.

Since TWLOHA's start over two and a half years ago, the folks at "The Bungalow" (the physical home of To Write Love on Her Arms) have replied to 80,000 messages from people in over fourty countries.

"The vision is that community and hope and help would replace secrets and silence."

Proceeds from the sale of t-shirts as well as other TWLOHA gear goes to treatment for people in need all over the world. Though this article has barely brushed the surface of the incredible strides that To Write Love on Her Arms is taking to open the conversation about life, we hope that you will read more about this great organization here: http://www.twloha.org.