Gilman

LAHAINA — Women Helping Women in West Maui seeks personal stories, poems, drawings and songs about domestic violence and its human toll to appear in a new publication called “In Her Words: A Survivors’ Journal.”

Recognizing that October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the group decided to begin this project as a way to bring attention to the fact that the violence still continues.

“Women and children of all ages are encouraged to submit material to the journal,” said West Maui Domestic Violence Coordinator and Advocate Pema Gilman.

“We want to give the victims of abuse a way to be heard in their own words, so that people gain a more realistic picture of its devastating affect on women, children and families.”

Authors can choose to have their material appear without their name or with first name or initials only. Articles can be submitted in languages other than English, and translations will appear alongside non-English submissions.

“Though we need to know the identity of those contributing their work when it’s submitted, names and contact information will be kept strictly confidential according to the wishes of the author,” emphasized Gilman.

Material should be sent to Women Helping Women-West Maui, P.O. Box 601, Lahaina, HI 96761, or by e-mail to JournalMeMaui@gmail.com.

Those wishing to show their support through an ad in the publication can request a rate card by e-mailing JournalMeMaui@gmail.com.

According to Gilman, there are more than 190 reported domestic violence cases in Maui each month.

“This is a shocking number to many people, but it’s real, and the public needs to be made aware of the extent of the problem in their community,” said Gilman.

 The office of Women Helping Women-West Maui can help victims. Located in Lahaina, it is staffed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For individual appointments, call 661-7111.