Gun Violence: We All Have A Story to Tell
Gun violence is not something that happens somewhere else to other people. It’s happening now, to all of us, no matter where or how we live. Each of us has a story to tell about how gun violence has affected us, whether through workplace or school violence, death by suicide, or community violence. We are all dealing with the post-traumatic effects of the shootings in Newton, CT; at the Pulse in Orlando, at Parkland, and more.
How has this affected our lives? What can we do about it? What can we say about it?
Join us at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 16th at the Jessie Ball DuPont Center in downtown Jacksonville for this all-gender writing circle at the JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival to document our life experiences and share them in a safe circle. We will find a hopeful note by writing together in community, and looking to poetry, art, and creative expression as a way to mend the fabric of our gun-torn lives.
This writing can become seeds of change in our community as we document these everyday stories of gun violence—and what we can do about it. Telling our story is the first step.
Facilitated by Jennifer Wolfe, Executive Director of Women Writing for (a) Change Jacksonville.
Jennifer Wolfe is a writer, facilitator, and community animator. The executive director of Women Writing for (a) Change Jacksonville, she’s helped facilitate change for people and organizations for the past 25 years. She’s also been keeping a journal since the age of 10.
A journalist by training and a writer for life, Jennifer leverages her personal experiences and facilitation skills to help others use writing as a tool for their own personal growth, creative expression, and self-directed change.
Jennifer established Women Writing for (a) Change Jacksonville in 2014 as a local affiliate for a national, women-led organization. Since then she’s branched out to provide women-centered writing classes, art exhibitions, publications, and community events at her historic home in Riverside. The organization centers women, but not exclusively. All genders, races, ages, ethnic backgrounds, and personal perspectives are welcomed in this radically inclusive group whose mission is to encourage people to craft more conscious lives through the art of writing and the practices of community.
A social entrepreneur and a ukulele fan, Jennifer has a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She’s also taught at Tulane, reared two children, kept a journal, written a blog, started a Happiness Project, launched a recycling program, and tended a garden.
More information about Women Writing for (a) Change Jacksonville can be found at www.womenwritingjacksonville.org.