Not only are
creative endeavors, like sewing, believed to improve an individual’s mental
health and well-being but when these activities are directed towards filling a
need in someone else’s life, whether
it be a friend, family member, or stranger, the positive impact seems
limitless.
In my last post
I highlighted the efforts of a Massachusetts woman who was using her skills and
time to make “muck” shoes for refugee children. I had came across this story while
pursuing all things sewing related in the news and since then I have come across
a number of other stories about the efforts of individuals and communities to
provide support to a wide range of people (cancer patients, adult refugees,
victims of intimate partner violence and victims of sexual assaults) through
sewing or teaching sewing skills.
For today's post I wanted to share another story, about Maegan Carberry and her "birdbrained" idea.
Maegan is a
36-year old journalist, media strategist, and digital entrepreneur living in California.
Maegan is also a woman who has struggled with PTSD for almost 20 years after being
sexually assaulted when she was 16 years old.
In the article where I first discovered Maegan (as well as on her
website) she speaks of struggling with PTSD until she worked with her mom in
2014 to sew a dress for a special event. In the process of working on this
dress Maegan experienced an improvement in her mental and emotional health. Not
letting the fact that she had very little sewing experience stop her, this positive
impact motivated Maegan to pledge to make 100 dresses for her friends and
family.
A couple years
and a few sewing classes later Maegan’s personal project, Birdbrain, has
evolved into a non-profit organization working to bring awareness to sexual
assault by creating a free online resource titled, the Long-Term Guide to
Surviving Sexual Assault (expected to be released in April 2018). Not only is
Maegan working to sew each one of these dresses but she also embroiders a bird
on every dress.
Maegan’s story
caught my interest because not only
does she speak to the beneficial impact of sewing and creativity on her mental
health but she is also dedicated to
using her skills to bring awareness and support to other victims of sexual
assault.
To learn more
about Maegan, see pictures of the beautiful dresses she has made and to support her with a donation of
funds or supplies follow this link to her website: https://www.dressbirdbrain.com.
Original
article: http://www.desertsun.com/story/desert-magazine/2017/02/08/birdbrain-founder-sewing-100-dresses-raise-awareness-sexual-assault/97558988/
Sew on,
E. Farley
Sew on,
E. Farley
