MANSFIELD — Arizona Hess had never written much poetry, until the Domestic Violence Shelter of Richland County asked if she could help with a project.
The English literature and film graduate of The Ohio State University saw one of her poems premiere its short film on Tuesday night.
“I was mostly asked to write it because of my role on campus, I’m a sexual assault victim’s advocate,” she said. “We knew we wanted to do a project that raised awareness about dating violence resources.
“I wrote this specifically for the short film and this event, and it’s about a survivor going through different ranges of emotions that you would feel in that situation. The point of it is there are awful, terrible things that happen to people, but you’re not alone and you will get better.”
“Symbol of Strength” premiered at the Bromfield Library on Tuesday at the “Expressions of the Heart” poetry and art show. A trailer for the short film will be released soon for the public.
High school students were also given the opportunity to submit works of poetry or art about dating violence for the inaugural event, and six of those submissions earned awards.
Colleen Rice, executive director of the Domestic Violence Center of Richland County, said the short film was a collaboration between OSU-Mansfield, Leapyear Studios and other partners.
She said she asked Donna Hight, chief student life and enrollment services officer for OSU- Mansfield, if the college and domestic violence shelter could collaborate for an awareness event.
“You know when you have a meeting with Donna that something magical is going to happen,” Rice said. “Before I knew it, she had a whole group of experts and amazing leaders from the community to help me out with this project.
“Understanding and empathy can ignite change, so I invite you to pause and listen, because chances are high that someone in your circle has been affected by domestic violence or dating violence.”
Leapyear Studios to submit ‘Symbol of Strength’ to film festivals
Jennifer Enskat, executive director of Leapyear Studios, said the team was happy to produce the short film. Leapyear’s cinematographers taught the students involved how to frame camera shots and other skills.
“This was a quick project that turned out incredible,” she said. “One of our missions at Leapyear Studios is to always have some aspect of education in our projects, so that seemed like a great opportunity to give the kids ownership of the film.
“Everyone had moments where you could see in their eyes they were connecting to their own story. They all really showed up.”
The film features Valeria Carrasco, Clayton Hardy, Kelsey Fuller, Sarah Brook, Alayna Rickly and Justin Rivera.
Hess said the team took one Saturday to film at Leapyear Studios in downtown Mansfield to film “Symbol of Strength.”
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“Next year for the art show, I think I’d like to connect directly with teachers so they can share submissions with their students and maybe even give them class time for their projects,” Hess said.
Hess works for The Domestic Violence Shelter as a campus advocate for OSU-Mansfield and North Central State College. She is stationed on campus at least twice a week and also open for appointments.
“I am mostly just supposed to be a resource for students who need to talk to somebody about dating violence, sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking — the list goes on,” she said. “I am a free and confidential resource.”
Expressions Against Violence is an initiative aimed at creating space for teens to address dating violence through their own passion and creativity. February is nationally recognized as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.
“We believe our youth have unique perspectives and insights that can help us all understand these issues better,” Rice said. “We hope this event and the film help to celebrate the achievements of our young artists and poets and advocate for a future free from violence.”
Rice thanked the event’s sponsors and all the teens who submitted work to the poetry and art show. Six students earned $250 awards sponsored by local businesses.
The award recipients included:
• Deanna Boyd, 9th grade from Mansfield Christian High School, for “Wilted Rose,” presented by Sutton Bank.
• Haylee Shade, 9th grade from Mansfield Christian High School, for “Broken Pieces,” presented by BP Electric.
• Andrew Martinez, 9th grade from Mansfield Christian High School, for “Mental Games,” presented by Johnny’s Motorcars and Johnny’s Mattress & Furniture Superstore.
• Makayla Smith, 9th grade from Mansfield Christian High School, for “Trapped,” presented by KOSI.
• Alyssa Lush, 12th grade from Lucas High School, for “Guilt,” presented by The Phillips Family Foundation.
• Jordyn Trunnel, 9th grade from Mansfield Senior High School, for “The Girlfriend,” presented by Park National Bank.
Facts from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
- Nearly 1 in 11 female high school students and 1 in 15 male high school students report having experienced physical dating violence in the last year.
- About 1 in 9 female students and 1 in 36 male high school students report having experienced sexual dating violence in the last year.
- About 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men report having experienced severe physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.
- About 41% of women and 26% of men experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.
- LGBTQ+ students reported experiencing physical or sexual dating violence at more than 3 times the rate of their heterosexual peers in a 2017 survey.
If you need resources, call the local 24/7 domestic violence line at 419-774-5840 or use the chat option at www.resourceconnect.com/dvs/chat.
The Domestic Violence Shelter provides advocacy to all survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. Trained advocates are always available at the 24/7 Crisis Line at 419-774-5840.
To learn more about services and programs, go to www.thedvshelter.com.