Finding Our Voices is bringing Survivor Voices to seven public libraries across Maine to boldly break the silence through October’s Domestic Abuse Awareness Month.
The public libraries of Millinocket, Northeast Harbor, Bar Harbor, Camden, Damariscotta, Kennebunk and York are partnering with the grassroots nonprofit for the two-month Finding Our Voices “Let’s Talk About It” tour running from Sept. 27 to Nov. 28.
Each of these stops will feature a different panel of four to seven Maine survivors sharing their experiences of being abused in the name of love as well as the impact this had on their children. Audience members will be invited to pose questions and provide their own thoughts.
The 20 survivor participants include Rebekah Lowell who is the illustrator of the 2023 Common Ground Fair poster; 83-year-old Mary Lou Smith from Scarborough who endured four decades of abuse by her USM professor husband; and a young teacher who attributes attending a Finding Our Voices library event a year ago to getting out of her own nightmare of emotional abuse.
Facilitator of the discussions will be Patrisha McLean, the president of Finding Our Voices who founded the organization following the very public domestic violence arrest in 2016 of her now-ex husband Don “American Pie” McLean.
The two-hour library program includes short films and a reception with refreshments and is free and open to the public.
Tour dates are Oct. 4 at Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, Oct. 11 at Millinocket Memorial Library, Oct. 17 at York Public Library, Oct. 18 at Kennebunk Free Library, Nov. 7 at Skidompha Library in Damariscotta, and Nov. 28 at the Camden Public Library.
Times as well as more information can be found on the websites of the libraries as well as the Finding Our Voices website at https://findingourvoices.net/.
Finding Our Voices provides innovative public awareness campaigns to destigmatize domestic abuse for victims, as well as peer-to-peer support to mitigate the isolation and financial abuse that are key factors in keeping women trapped in danger at home. Its hand-up to sister survivors include financial assistance, the pro bono dental program Finding Our Smiles, healing retreats for mothers and children, and online support groups including one for women who are estranged from their adult children due to manipulation by the ex.
McLean said the point of this library tour “is to reframe domestic abuse so all understand how complicated, insidious, and pervasive it is.”
“We are here,” she said, “as Mainers who have managed to cross over to the bright side of safety and freedom, to tell everyone that it DOES happen to independent, smart, and accomplished people; that emotional abuse IS abuse; that it is not our shame, and that there IS a way out.”
McLean said that public libraries are perfect venues for this talking tour because of their role as the town’s community gathering place.
“We don’t like to be quiet here,” said Michelle Conners, director of the Kennebunk Free Library. “Like more and more libraries, we are a place for social interaction and collaboration, and safe havens to discuss the more difficult topics such as domestic abuse.”
Through October, participating libraries as well as businesses from the library communities are exhibiting the Finding Our Voices posters that feature McLean’s photo portraits of 45 Maine survivors, paired with the survivors’ customized Power and Control Wheel. This Wheel outlines the universal tactics that abusers use to get and maintain control of intimate partners they purport to love.
A number of public libraries are supporting the “Let’s Talk About It” fall tour by exhibiting the group’s domestic abuse awareness posters, and distributing its bookmarks that in 2023 are sponsored by First National Bank. These include Southwest Harbor Public Library, Bass Harbor Memorial Library, Somesville Library, Wells Public Library, and Rice Public Library in Kittery.
Sponsors for the Finding Our Voices fall library tour include Stanley Subaru, Cosmetic Enhancement Center of New England, and Kennebunk Savings.
During October, the Rockport Public Library is lending a huge bank of windows for a Finding Our Voices outdoor exhibit that features the photo portraits of 15 survivors paired with documentation of what the women transcended. At the Camden Public Library, the November 28 Finding Our Voices panel features men discussing the domestic abuse they grew up with as children.
McLean said a bonus of this library tour is getting acquainted with public libraries across Maine. “It has been a joy to discover stately granite buildings filled with gorgeous wood, beautifully-lit nooks, and local art exhibits, and to see the passion the staff have for fostering learning, understanding, and community.”