Excerpt from recent article:

“The writing contained in this SpeakOut! issue was not generated in a vacuum,” the introduction reads. “Every piece grew from a writer touched by their world. They echo with the inexhaustible material of loved ones’ laughs, but also memories writers would often rather forget. They are interwoven with fragments of joy and hope but also remnants of injustice and grief. Each piece is as complex and multifaceted as the writers’ divergent stories that coalesced to create them.”

The most important aspect is creating a true sense of belonging and community, Jacobi said. Each participant is asked to engage with themselves and one another to work toward the creation of something both beautiful and vital for growth and connection. Education and literacy become tools used to inspire and heal rather than to further inequity and injustice.

“It’s a different kind of relationship we’re inviting them to be a part of,” Jacobi said.”

See complete article here.