To Write Love On Her Arms
By Carley Hollis
Monday 28th September 2009
Few people will know what the acronym ‘T.W.L.O.H.A’ (or more commonly, Twloha) stands for, but the level of ignorance of the ‘To Write Love On Her Arms’ campaign isn’t entirely surprising
An American not-for-profit organisation which has only been running since 2006, Twloha is a campaign to address the needs of young people who are struggling with self harm, drug or alcohol abuse, depression and suicide. Originally set up by a single person to raise money to fund the drug rehabilitation program of a 19 year old friend, the campaign quickly metamorphosis into something bigger than just one individuals recovery. This was possibly because of the uniqueness of this project, as it aims to help young people by talking their language – organising festivals and tours across the United States, and publicising itself by persuading up and coming bands wearing the distinctive To Write Love On Her Arms t shirts. The project is simplistic; the Twloha team doesn’t actively treat anyone themselves - their mission is to “encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into the treatment and recovery” of young people. This means that nothing they do is about judging or allocating blame to people with problems; their sole objective is to encourage them to get help, and to encourage the rest of the world to support these people whilst acknowledging that these problems exist. Twloha is quick to point out that untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers. That means that even if depression hasn’t touched your life personally up until this point, the likelihood is that it will – maybe affecting a friend, a sibling or even a child. It stands to reason that one of the easiest ways to reduce the number of suicides in teens is to reduce the predominance of depression – and the easiest way to do that is to make it acceptable for young people to admit to their feelings so that they can then be treated. Twloha makes it okay for young people to admit their problems – it gives them an opportunity to meet others who have the same struggles, and get in touch with people who have overcome the same difficulties they are facing. It’s a noble cause – To Write Love On Her Arms simply wants to see young people facing problems feel like they can admit them and get help for them – but its success is due to the way the project has removed social stigma from admitting to ones problems. There’s no unacceptability in a t-shirt proclaiming ‘We are the hopeful’ – and seeing someone else who supports the same cause brings a certain encouragement to the whole thing.
An American not-for-profit organisation which has only been running since 2006, Twloha is a campaign to address the needs of young people who are struggling with self harm, drug or alcohol abuse, depression and suicide. Originally set up by a single person to raise money to fund the drug rehabilitation program of a 19 year old friend, the campaign quickly metamorphosis into something bigger than just one individuals recovery. This was possibly because of the uniqueness of this project, as it aims to help young people by talking their language – organising festivals and tours across the United States, and publicising itself by persuading up and coming bands wearing the distinctive To Write Love On Her Arms t shirts. The project is simplistic; the Twloha team doesn’t actively treat anyone themselves - their mission is to “encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into the treatment and recovery” of young people. This means that nothing they do is about judging or allocating blame to people with problems; their sole objective is to encourage them to get help, and to encourage the rest of the world to support these people whilst acknowledging that these problems exist. Twloha is quick to point out that untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers. That means that even if depression hasn’t touched your life personally up until this point, the likelihood is that it will – maybe affecting a friend, a sibling or even a child. It stands to reason that one of the easiest ways to reduce the number of suicides in teens is to reduce the predominance of depression – and the easiest way to do that is to make it acceptable for young people to admit to their feelings so that they can then be treated. Twloha makes it okay for young people to admit their problems – it gives them an opportunity to meet others who have the same struggles, and get in touch with people who have overcome the same difficulties they are facing. It’s a noble cause – To Write Love On Her Arms simply wants to see young people facing problems feel like they can admit them and get help for them – but its success is due to the way the project has removed social stigma from admitting to ones problems. There’s no unacceptability in a t-shirt proclaiming ‘We are the hopeful’ – and seeing someone else who supports the same cause brings a certain encouragement to the whole thing.