The weather in Bloomington is changing.

 

With temperatures dropping between 40-60 degrees, it’s not just humans who are feeling the chill of fall.

From October until March 10, trees across the city will sport sweaters, not for style, but to raise awareness for domestic violence in Bloomington.

“By doing this, we’re raising money which is funding Middle Way House and they can help survivors,” said Middle Way House Volunteer Chair Katherine Devich. “To me it’s directly helping people.”

“Wrapped in Love” is an initiative put on by the Middle Way House, a Bloomington-based organization that services people who are struggling with domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

Since its start in 2017, trees with messages such as “Picture a world free of violence” have been words that have been presented to pedestrians passing through streets in Bloomington.

From Kirkwood Avenue to Downtown Bloomington, crocheted, knit and felt-made sweaters showcase warm messages and images to a nationwide issue.

Each tree is crafted differently from the others around the city. Devich, a life-long Bloomington resident has been crafting tree sweaters for over three years. She says that each sweater takes varying amounts of time to create.

“I think if you sat down start to finish on a crocheted or knitted sweater, I would say 40 to 60 hours if you sat and did it continuously on average.” Devich said.

 

Since the beginning of the decade, the MWH services also includes but is not limited to; access to a 24-hour crisis line, emergency shelter, legal advocacy and prevention education.

The Wrapped in Love project raises money with businesses sponsoring tree sweaters, with the proceeds to go directly to the Middle Way House.  The project has raised over $20,000 from sponsorships from businesses.

For Christopher De Young, a Middle Way House Board Member, the Wrapped in Love initiative is a unique way to bring awareness to a unique community.

“Domestic violence disproportionally affects the trans and gay communities,” De Young said. “I think the sweaters can sort of indicate that we actually care about all communities, it’s not just sort of a white, straight phenomenon, it affects everyone.”

According to an Indiana Daily Student article, the Middle Way House had received 356 calls in September 2018, an increase of more than 100 calls.

Before moving to Bloomington, De Young had lived in Washington D.C, England, and Spain. He believes that the differences in domestic violence can be attributed to culture.

“The {Spanish} society rally hasn’t grasped it yet,” he said. “I don’t think in America we haven’t really wrapped our heads around how big a problem it is but I think Bloomington is pretty good about that.”

While the current statistics have not been disclosed, members of the MWH believe that there’s been more awareness of domestic violence.

“We’ve gotten so much better at the labels,” Devich said. “I meet a lot of people on the streets when I’m working on the tree sweaters that never knew what they were for in the past years, but we’ve gotten so much better at labelling.