What is the Release (it) Party?
The Release (it) Party is a project created for women, femme and gender expansive individuals who have experienced sexual assault. We want to facilitate a space unlike any offered — where our systems have failed and days don’t allow — to release the pain and grief that we carry uninterrupted.
The “Party” – an evening of feasting with the dream of communal healing. It will be offered free of charge to participants. We are creating this event to host a safe, nurturing, restorative space for women, femme and gender expansive people to come together to share their stories, art, music, and grief around our table set with care, intention and really lovely food.
Our goal is to host this event twice a year, continuing to expand and adapt our event to suit the needs of our community. We need your help to make this happen. For our first event we are hoping to raise $20,000 to cover the cost of our labor, ingredients, venue rental, equipment and paying artists, healers, and mental health professionals for their time and services.
What are the goals of The Release (it) Party?
- Access the full and potent nurturing power of the dinner table
- Serve and nourish a part of our community that is systemically underserved
- Collaborate with local mental health professionals, artists and healers to facilitate a safe and healing event
- Build community and strength through gathering and sharing
What are we raising money for?
We want to offer this event free of charge for those who attend. That means we need to cover the cost of the following:
- Ingredients
- Paying ourselves to plan and facilitate
- Pay Healers and Mental Health professionals for their guidance and participation
- Pay artists to help install floral and textile installations
- Supplies – Ceremonial plate ware, glassware, flatware, linens, printed materials, self care bags for each participant to take home
Why is this event necessary and important?
- Out of every 1000 instances of rape, only 13 cases get referred to a prosecutor, and only 7 cases will lead to a felony conviction.
- 1 in 6 women have been the victim of an attempted or completed rape
- Almost half of all transgender people have been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives, and these rates are even higher for trans people of color and those who have done sex work, been homeless, or have (or had) a disability.
- It’s easy to feel helpless to change the system and culture that we’re a part of, we are trying to create a place of respite for individuals who have experienced the injustice of this system and the daily persistence of a violent rape culture.