Maizee Zaccone, outreach and volunteer advocate at Victim Outreach Intervention Center (VOICe) of Butler County, said her organization is joining with Slippery Rock University to revive the Clothesline Project, which features messages of support from survivors of sexual violence on T-shirts. ERIC FREEHLING/BUTLER EAGLE

Maizee Zaccone, the outreach and volunteer advocate at Victim Outreach Intervention Center (VOICe) of Butler County, wants to start a conversation about a subject many prefer isn’t discussed at all.

That’s why, Zaccone said, this April VOICe is joining with Slippery Rock University for VOICe’s annual Clothesline Project, an interactive exhibit showcasing messages from survivors of sexual violence, as well as notes of solidarity from allies, written onto blank T-shirts.

The T-shirts are displayed in common and public areas to create an artistic clothesline of hope through trauma and unity, amid pain. Zaccone said it is a good message to reinforce during April, which is designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month. President Barak Obama proclaimed the first Sexual Assault Awareness Month in 2009.

Promoted for sexual assault survivors and supporters, “Exhale: A Night of Art, Healing, and Expression,” will be from 6 to 8 p.m. April 5 in the Robert M. Smith Student Center ballroom on the Slippery Rock University campus. The function is facilitated by the University’s HOPE Center, a branch of Student Health Services that focuses on health promotion across the campus. This year, VOICe will collect additional t-shirts for the ongoing clothesline project.

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