Why did you want to bring TWLOHA to your school? How did your chapter get started?
Our founder Linda wanted to bring TWLOHA to the students at USC because she wanted to see a group of students who represented what true community would look like in a society that promotes individuality instead of journeying through life together no matter the good or the bad. She believes in the message of TWLOHA and wanted to share it with those who need community the most, which is everyone because we are all broken people. Our chapter got started after she attended one of the first MOVE Conferences in Cocoa and felt a passion to get a UChapter started at her school even though it would be her last year as a student. After trial and error in finding an advisor, we became a student organization and have been since April of 2010.

What has been the most rewarding part about being a chapter on your school’s campus?
Meeting people in the community who care about what we’re trying to accomplish and sharing TWLOHA’s vision with us has been the most rewarding part. The conversations I’ve had with other students are a constant reminder that we are not alone and that everyone can relate the issues we talk about, whether they’ve dealt with these issues personally or just know someone who has. These issues affect all of us. Being able to engage others and listen to the stories shared from strangers brings hope and reminds me why I wanted to be a part of this movement.

What was the best program or activity that your chapter has done or been a part of?
Our tabling events, in general, have been the best activities we’ve done. Getting to talk to people about TWLOHA and our chapter plus spending time with our members has always been a lot of fun. Our Six-Word Memoir project was probably our most successful event. We did that in the fall of 2010 and had a big response from the USC community.

What is coming up for your chapter this spring?
We’re still in the early stages of planning, but we’re getting good ideas started. We’ll definitely be doing a lot of recruitment and having more community time with our group. Last year, we did something for Valentine’s Day and Self-Injury Awareness Day, so we’ll probably look into doing those events again and seeing how we can improve them. We’re also looking into doing a benefit concert hopefully in the near future.

—Julie, President of TWLOHA-USC