May 6, 2020

Silver linings might be few and far between these days, but the stay-at-home order is an opportunity to reflect upon issues of disability and access. With meetings and events moving online to platforms like Zoom, tech is closing the gap between those who are housebound and those who are not. At CAASE, we’re seeing this shift as we take Surviving the Mic (STM) to the internet with Surviving the Mic: Virtually Together. Before the stay-at-home order, STM manifested in both writing workshops and an open mic series. Now, it will be streamlined to one weekly event, taking place over Zoom.

Nikki Patin, CAASE’s Community Engagement Director, facilitates this space dedicated to the perspectives, experiences and artistic expressions of survivors of sexual harm. They find this new format “very exciting” as it “opens conversations up” and allows survivors managing conditions like PTSD to participate from the comfort of their homes.

“It’s brought more people together—We’ve got people from Chicago and the UK,” Patin says. “It’s got me thinking about how more people can get involved moving forward. What are the positives that can come out of this?”

Surviving the Mic-regulars might also dig the new format. Attendees shape the direction of each session, and it always includes a writing prompt facilitated by the survivor-led volunteer team of STM and the Community Engagement department of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation.

Weekly on Thursdays at 3PM CT

Surviving the Mic: Virtually Together can be accessed via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/558495459

Meeting ID: 558 495 459

Please email npatin@caase.org if you need additional accessibility information.

The Surviving the Mic Community Guidelines will be detailed at the beginning of every Zoom gathering, with the opportunity for those present to reflect, respond to and shape guidelines as necessary.