The Victim’s Resource Center has set up a number of powerful displays throughout the Greater Wilkes-Barre region, including one within the café of our Barnes and Noble College Bookstore located on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre.

The displays provide victims of violence, sexual assault and rape a chance to tell their stories of survival, while demonstrating to the community a small sample of the violent acts that haunt members of our own communities.

The first display is called the “Clothesline Project” and consists of shirts designed by survivors or family members of victims of rape, sexual assault and incest.

According to the display, the shirts are made by victims from Wyoming, Luzerne and Carbon counties. The “Clothesline Project” is part of a national and international project, which gives survivors and victims a face and voice against the violence they experienced.

The second display featured within Barnes and Noble and across the Wyoming Valley is known as the “Shoe Project.” This display consists of the shoes worn by sexual assault victims accompanied by a sheet of paper giving a glimpse into the various situations in which these men, women and children found themselves victimized.

“This is the shoe they found in his backyard the next day,” said one of the attached stories. “They still haven’t found me.”

On the display card, the Victims Resource Center provides a support number, 1-610-379-0151, for those experiencing or those who knows someone who is experiencing sexual violence. It also suggests visiting their website, www.vrcnepa.org for information about services and help.