![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/OPCC_SuthiPicottePhotography-28.jpg?resize=1000%2C667\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Sojourn Domestic Abuse Shelter\u2019s second-home, where mothers and their children flee and hide from violent households, sits on a cul-de-sac without signage. When I\u2019d started leading Writopia workshops here, nobody gave me an address. A woman on the phone directed me through stop signs and traffic lights. I\u2019ve taught workshops here for a few months now, and still I don\u2019t know the address, only how to get here. I buzz in and unhook the front gate\u2019s latch. Some days, kids chase each other on tricycles across the lawn. Today\u2019s quiet, and I sign in at the office, seeing only the receptionist. The rest of the home looks like a home: a kitchen; a living room, at which a baby often sits in his high chair, watching television; bedrooms and bathrooms. You wouldn\u2019t know this home was different from the others in the neighborhood but for this office. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s Jasmine\u2019s* last night here,\u201d the receptionist says. \u201cShe wants you to come to her farewell ceremony. If you have the time, of course. There\u2019s cake!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I say I do, and she leads me to the room referred to as the library, a small office with chairs, books, and a coffee table. I see only Karen*, the woman who works for the shelter and assists in workshop, sitting and smiling knowingly. Out from beneath the chairs, the kids emerge, shout, \u201cBoo!\u201d You wouldn\u2019t know these kids endured trauma by the looks on their faces: glowing, laughing because they surprised me. <\/span><\/p>\n The turnover rate for these families is give or take two months. I\u2019ve taught twelve children from the home and crisis center over ten weeks, none for more than four sessions. Most of that time is spent showing the children that they can trust me, and next, that their ideas aren\u2019t stupid. Some start stories, but much like their own, they may not get resolved anytime soon. <\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m not typically privy to where families go next. One boy, eleven and brazen, said he hated writing and why was I wasting his time? He apologized, but I understood: He\u2019d endured trauma, witnessed abuse, and as he\u2019d learned that morning, his mother had nowhere to take them once their time ended at the shelter. These children bring entirely turbulent lives into workshop. Here, while my job is still to teach literacy and nuanced craft lessons, I devote most of my energy and purpose to facilitating a space in which they can be children for an hour. They laugh and tell stories about time travel and hide under chairs to surprise me. Here, there is no right or wrong or angry fathers. <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s what people want to know: do the children process their trauma in workshop? They do, but sometimes it comes out sideways. The brazen eleven-year-old boy would rant about his father, dig his pen into his Writopia notebook, and scribble shapes across the page. With Jasmine, though, it is different. She loves her father and speaks fondly of their visits. They\u2019d gone to the beach recently. We bonded because I mentioned my parents divorced. That\u2019s what her parents were doing, she says. Divorcing. <\/span><\/p>\n After 7:00, the receptionist enters to say the ceremony will start soon. Ceremony by definition is formal, but feels hyperbolic for what this night entails: The other mothers and children gather around a small square table with three seats. The receptionist says this is her first time leading the ritual and will we bear with her? Jasmine\u2019s mom speaks Spanish, so the toast is read in broken Spanish before read in its original English. Afterwards, we applaud, cut the grocery store cake, and the family is gifted presents from the staff (doll clothes for the daughter, toiletries for her mom). I cannot read the emotions. It is anticlimactic. <\/span><\/p>\n Jasmine\u2019s mom leans across the table to me. \u201cYou teach writing?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n I nod and smile. <\/span>Yes.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Jasmine interrupts. \u201cMom, her parents got divorced, too!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Jasmine\u2019s mom\u2019s eyebrows raise. \u201cCan she keep in touch with you?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n My parents divorced when I was in college in an amicable split I could only wish for other families. I don\u2019t tell Jasmine that — I know my experience isn\u2019t the point. Whether she ever reaches out or not, Jasmine needs to know she\u2019s safe, and that a young woman can grow up to accomplish what she wants, despite her parents\u2019 marriage. I give Jasmine my business card, a hardcover Writopia notebook, and a hot pink Writopia pen. I hope to hear from her. As of this writing, I haven\u2019t, but I hope she\u2019s still safe.<\/span><\/p>\n * Names have been changed.<\/span><\/p>\n Lyndsay Hall is the Program Manager and Head Instructor at Writopia Lab Los Angeles.\u00a0Lyndsay earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University, where she worked as the managing editor of the program’s literary journal. Her narrative essays, poetry, and journalism have appeared in online and print journals, such as\u00a0Little Fiction | Big Truths<\/em>,\u00a0juked<\/em>,\u00a0Lunch Ticket<\/em>,\u00a0b(OINK)<\/em>,The Avalon Literary Review<\/em>,\u00a0xoJane<\/em>,\u00a0Design District Magazine<\/em>, and elsewhere.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Sojourn Domestic Abuse Shelter\u2019s second-home, where mothers and their children flee and hide from violent households, sits on a cul-de-sac without signage. When I\u2019d started leading Writopia workshops here, nobody gave me an address. A woman on the phone directed me through stop signs and traffic lights. I\u2019ve taught workshops here for a few …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-staff-voices","entry entry-center"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s9aRpX-sojourn","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":608,"url":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/reflections-on-our-winter-retreat\/","url_meta":{"origin":204,"position":0},"title":"Reflections on our Winter Retreat","author":"Elsa Berm\u00fadez","date":"February 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Written by Elsa and Matthew, Camp Co-DirectorsAdditional comments by workshop and elective instructors Malcolm, Jem, Peter, Rita, & Will We ran our 6th annual winter retreat at Camp Mariah over Presidents Day weekend this year! A smaller, more wintry version of WriCampia, our winter writing retreat (for tweens and teens)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/478883249_18480818452041433_4080427561716922445_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/478883249_18480818452041433_4080427561716922445_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/478883249_18480818452041433_4080427561716922445_n.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/478883249_18480818452041433_4080427561716922445_n.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/478883249_18480818452041433_4080427561716922445_n.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/478883249_18480818452041433_4080427561716922445_n.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":456,"url":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/fostering-expertise-confidence-and-passion-in-writing-education-how-a-common-sense-nonbinary-education-policy-may-serve-to-enrich-teachers-writing-lives-shrink-the-divide-between-literac\/","url_meta":{"origin":204,"position":1},"title":"The story and data behind Writopia’s 2023 professional development pilot, launched this winter with the NYCDOE Chancellor’s Office","author":"Rebecca Wallace-Segall","date":"February 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Rebecca Wallace-Segall Within this essay, I \u00a0examine the ongoing youth literacy crisis in New York City and, along with it, two long-standing, opposing education policies\u2014progressive and traditional\u2014that have sought to address it. 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In the busyness of day to day life, particularly these past two years,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Staff Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Staff Voices","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/category\/staff-voices\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/book.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/book.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/book.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/book.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/book.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":222,"url":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/madeleine-lengles-granddaughter-lena-roy-listening-creative-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":204,"position":3},"title":"Madeleine L’Engle’s Granddaughter Lena Roy on Listening as a Creative Act","author":"Writopia Lab","date":"November 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cBecause we fail to listen to people\u2019s stories, we are becoming a fragmented human race.\u201d \u2014 Madeleine L\u2019Engle,\u00a0Sold into Egypt: Journeys Into Being Human Listening is a creative act: it takes great imagination to be able to step into someone else\u2019s world, into their truth. 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\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThey\u2019ve been looking out the window at every car that drove by. \u2018Is that Lyndsay? Is that Lyndsay?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cThey wanted to surprise you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n