By Travis Cordial
For The Salisbury Post
“Each year, over 1,000,000 American children suffer the divorce of their parents… YOU are not Alone, YOU have a Voice… SHOUT IT OUT.”
A local organization, ThisIsOURShoutOut, is looking to make a difference.
Three years ago, I suffered the divorce of my parents. Going through such an event drastically changed my life and began to affect not only my personal life, but my walk with God. Feeling like no one was there to hear my voice and listen to how the divorce affected me, I began to write my story on a simple piece of paper.
After reading over all of the events that took place through the divorce, I felt as though a weight had been lifted. My writing provided an outlet for the pain I had been suffering.
In October of 2009, I started a ministry called ThisIsOURShoutOut. It started as a MySpace page and quickly grew from there.
In only a short time, MySpace had thousands of views, stories began to come in, and people from all over began to share how the divorce of their parents had impacted their lives. Since then, in my role with TIOSO, I’ve had the opportunity to be on the radio, speak at churches and events, and talk with many kids suffering from the divorce of their parents.
At TIOSO, we are dedicated to revealing the effects of divorce on a younger generation and giving hope for healing through a relationship with Christ. We seek to give a once-silenced voice back to those caught in the middle of divorce and provide hope in what seems to be a hopeless situation.
Many times during divorce, teens and youth are overlooked. Whether they are 8 or 18, their voices are suddenly silenced. They have no one to turn to, no one to talk to, and no one to listen. Anger, loneliness, depression, and guilt are just some of the emotions that begin to take over. Some may turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, cutting or anything to escape the pain of the separation.
“Each year, over 1,000,000 American children will suffer the divorce of their parents.” That breaks down to 115 every hour.
On June 12-15, TIOSO will be holding AWalkForVoices. World Hope youth pastor Paul Silvas and I will be walking from Salisbury to King and back; a total of 115 miles in four days. We will be walking to raise awareness and funds for TIOSO.
“Every mile, every voice.”
If you would like to donate and support TIOSO, please visit www.thisisourshoutout.com for information on how to do so. Here, you can also find more information on TIOSO, as well as stories that have been written.
At 7 p.m. June 15, TIOSO will also be hosting AWalkForVoices Finale featuring Austin Simmons. It will be held at World Hope Worship Center, 2203 Mooresville Road. This event is free and open to all.
For more information, go to www.thisisourshoutout.com.
Travis Cordial is founder of TIOSO and the middle school pastor at World Hope Worship Center in Salisbury. World Hope’s phone number is 704- 636-9159.