SCARBOROUGH — Several middle school and high school students spent much of the day Sept. 29 hanging posters at the Scarborough Public Library. They worked with library staff and others creating a display for Domestic Violence Awareness Month which takes place in October.

Students and staff worked with members of the nonprofit organization Finding Our Voices on the display which consists of a photo exhibit portraying the faces and voices of 43 Maine survivors of domestic violence, ages 18 to 82, provided by Finding Our Voices. Finding Our Voices, on its website states, “we are a grassroots, survivor-powered nonprofit, marshaling our faces and voices to break the silence, stigma, and cycle of domestic abuse in Maine, and empowering women and children to get and stay safe.” The organization, founded by Patrisha McLean, creates and provides posters across the state featuring the faces and quotes of domestic violence abuse survivors, including McLean.

The library saw a surprise guest when Gov. Janet Mills put in an appearance. Mills said she too is a survivor of domestic violence.

The display came about, said Lucy Jackson Norvell, the library’s coordinator of Programming and Communications as “Deanna McNamara, our Youth Services manager, and I have been working collaboratively with Patrisha McLean for several weeks as we have built the programming to increase awareness this month.”

“Awareness is critically important around Domestic Violence and Abuse, which increased during the pandemic,” she said.

Members of the library’s Teen Advisory Board, or TAB, ranging from sixth to 12th graders were invited to hang the exhibit by McNamara, Norvell said, and added that staff members planning the programming for the month intentionally chose an active way for teens to participate.

“This issue is important to me because domestic violence is a real problem and victims and survivors deserve to know they are not alone and that they can get support,” Reed Shaw, senior at Scarborough High School,  said as to why they participated. “What better place to hang up these posters than the library because it’s a hub for town activity.”

“I feel that the library display is a fantastic part of the programming that SPL is offering throughout the month of October,” Scarborough High School student and President of the SHS Reducing Sexism and Violence Program Clair Reed said. “As it relates to what the high school’s Reducing Sexism and Violence Program is doing, both our goals are to reach out to our community and educate ourselves and others on issues related to sexism. Domestic violence is a serious matter — one that needs to be addressed across all communities and at all ages. At the high school, RSVP does our best to create engaging, age-appropriate discussions about issues like domestic violence, workplace harassment, and consent. The library’s programming seems to be doing the same: this month they are planning to provide space for people of all ages to learn about domestic abuse.”

“This issue is very important because there are people out there who are victims of domestic violence and they think they’re alone,” Scarborough Middle School seventh-grader John Wolfgram said. “These posters will help them realize that they can escape.”

Gov. Mills went attended Sept. 29 as she was invited to hang her own photo, as were all the others 42 survivors featured, Norvell said.

“This afternoon, I joined students at the Scarborough Public Library to hang posters featuring the stories of survivors and to thank them for helping to spread awareness about domestic abuse in the State of Maine,” Mills said on Facebook on Sept. 29.

“When Gov. Mills arrived at the Library, she mentioned that participating was a priority for her,” Norvell said. “The members of the library’s TAB group who were hanging the posters when Gov. Mills arrived were honored to meet her and to see her lend her voice to helping raise awareness of domestic abuse. It was a powerful experience to watch the Governor hang her own poster and then be photographed in front of it with other survivors (Patrisha McLean and Mary Lou Smith), library staff members, and students from Scarborough Middle and High Schools.”

“Honestly the governors visit was a surprise to us in TAB because we were only told she was coming right beforehand. Nevertheless it was cool to me that she was there to hang up her own poster,” Reed Shaw said.

“The governor being present was great,” Claire Shaw said. “I was glad that she was there to support the other survivors who were also there to hang their posters, and to support the Finding Our Voices program as a whole.”

“For the governor to be there and hang up her own poster is really important to what we’re trying to say,” Wolfgram said. “I was very excited and proud to meet her and work on this project with her.”

“As someone who experienced domestic violence when I was younger,” Mills said on Facebook. “I participated in the Finding Our Voices awareness campaign to make sure that other Maine women who have experienced, or who are experiencing domestic abuse, know that they are not alone and that escape from violence is possible.”

Offerings for Domestic Violence Awareness Month at the library will be multigenerational. In addition to the display, six of the 43 survivors represented in the exhibit will serve as panelists on Tuesday evening, Oct. 18 for a discussion geared toward adults at the library that will focus on the impact of domestic violence on family relationships. Panelists include: 17-year-old Riley Kennedy and 82-year-old Mary Lou Smith of Scarborough; Jennifer Greensmith and Tiffany Engelhardt of South Portland; author Rebekah Lowell of Biddeford; and Patrisha McLean of Camden. The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a public reception and exhibit viewing, the panel discussion begins at 6:30 p.m., and the evening ends with refreshments and an opportunity to connect with panelists at 7:45 p.m. For children ages 3-6, the library will hold a Story Time on Monday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m., and a book group for students in grades five through eight by Rebekah Lowell, author of “The Road to After,” takes place at 3 p.m. on Oct. 19. Through These Doors is collaborating with the Library to support both of the children’s programs. Sponsors for the exhibit and the panel discussion are: Gorham Savings Bank, Risbara Bros., and Camden Dermatology & MOHS Surgery, which has offices in Camden and Scarborough. Goodwill Northern New England, a Finding Our Voices collaborator, printed all 43 survivor-posters in the exhibit for free.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call Maine’s 24/7 confidential hotline at 866-834-4357. For more information on Finding Our Voices, go to findingourvoices.net

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