Handmade work that comforts families and gives survivors a voice.
Sheila’s Shawls and Paul’s Scarves
Silent Witness encourages you to knit (or sew or weave) scarves and shawls for the men and women who’ve lost someone to domestic violence.
We are doing this in honor of Senator Paul Wellstone, who died tragically in a plane crash in October 25 of 2002, along with his wife, Sheila, his daughter and staff members. Paul fought tirelessly to end domestic violence and we want to honor his memory in this way by extended his caring to men who have felt the pain of domestic violence.
Sheila’s Shawls and Paul’ Scarves celebrates compassion in action. Each handmade shawl or scarf is a symbol of care and solidarity—created to comfort those who have lost a loved one to domestic violence and to remind them they are not forgotten. Link to information on how to make shawls and scarves.
Every stitch in a shawl or scarf tells a story of kindness and remembrance. For families and friends who have lost someone to domestic violence, these handcrafted gifts provide a gentle embrace when the world feels cold and uncertain. The warmth they offer symbolizes care, healing, and the strength of a community that stands together against violence. In giving or receiving one, we honor those who are gone and uplift those who must go on.
Together, we can wrap survivors in compassion and remind them that healing is possible. Every shawl and scarf carries more than warmth—it carries love, remembrance, and hope for a future free from violence. Your contribution, no matter how small, becomes part of a shared promise to care for one another.
The Clothesline Project
The Clothesline Project is a visual display of shirts with graphic messages and illustrations that have been designed by women survivors of violence or by someone who loves a woman who has been killed. The purpose of the Project is to increase awareness of the impact of violence against women, to celebrate a woman’s strength to survive and to provide another avenue for her to courageously break the silence that often surrounds her experience.
This website will give you step by step instructions on how to set up your project. https://www.theclotheslineproject.org/start.html
The Clothesline Project began in 1990 in Hyannis, Massachusetts, with 31 shirts made through the Cape Cod Women’s Agenda. Many of the women who designed it had lived through violence themselves. They chose a clothesline because women in close-knit neighborhoods have long traded news over the back fence while hanging out the wash. Learn more about the Clothesline Project.
More ways to help: Wear it or show it · Hold an event · Remember · All ideas