To Write Love on Her Arms
| Abbreviation | TWLOHA |
|---|---|
| Formation | March 2006 |
| Founder | Jamie Tworkowski |
| Type | Non-profit organization |
| 26-0789229 | |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) tax-exempt |
| Purpose | Mission Statement: "To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery." |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Florida, U.S. |
Region served | Worldwide |
Official language | English |
Executive Director | Lindsay Kolsch |
Chief Marketing Officer | Mark Codgen |
Creative Director | James Likeness |
| Stephan Monteserin (President), Morgan Harper Nichols (Vice President), Drew Rector (Secretary), Joél L. Daniels, Tianna Soto, James Inks | |
| Staff | ~20 |
| Website | www.twloha.com |
| Remarks | Slogan: "Hope is real. Help is real. Your story is important." |
To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) is an American nonprofit organization that aims to present hope for people struggling with addiction, depression, self-injury and thoughts of suicide, while also investing in treatment and recovery. Based in Melbourne, Florida, TWLOHA seeks to connect people to mental health treatment providers, websites, books, support groups, helplines, and other resources. TWLOHA also encourages people to have honest conversations about mental health, and to live in community. A significant amount of TWLOHA's funding comes from the sale of merchandise with hopeful messages to their supporters, including T-shirts and other apparel, calendars, bracelets, keychains, stickers, pins, notebooks, and more.
To Write Love On Her Arms was founded in 2006 by Jamie Tworkowski. Its name was taken from the title of a short story Tworkowski wrote about his experience with a young addict who self-harmed by cutting the words "FUCK UP" on her arm with a razor blade. Tworkowski and a group of friends stayed with her after she was denied treatment in order to "be her church, the body of Christ coming alive to meet her needs, to write love on her arms". Although there are several references to Christianity in Tworkowski's original story, these solely reflect his personal thoughts about this experience, and TWLOHA is not a faith-based or religious organization.
The group's initial exposure came from musicians and bands wearing the organization's T-shirts in photographs and during live performances. In the years since, TWLOHA has continued to gain exposure through merchandise, live events, and social media campaigns such as their annual suicide prevention campaign in September.