The Jan. 28 feature story in the Steamboat Pilot & Today, entitled “Filling the Canvas,” by reporter Audrey Dwyer, hit us like a punch in the heart, and figuratively knocked the wind out of us.

The story was conceived to bring to light the fact that some of our high school students  – the youngest adults among us – have been reluctant to share their stories of abuse. The story also brings to light how high school senior Diana Hernandez inspired her classmates to help her shine a light on those stories through the Nova Project. Hernandez recruited fellow students to portray abuse by creating art that conveys the emotional impacts on its victims.

Through these pieces of diverse art, we come to understand that helping victims of abuse begins with a painful conversation. And through their portrayal of abuse, the artists speak on behalf of the victims – for people who they know and care about.

Read more at Steamboat Today.