Those who've experienced any type of violence in their lives are sharing their story by decorating a shirt.

The Clothesline Project is designed to give victims, or those who lost a loved one to violence, the chance to break the silence.

While people made shirts, multiple victims spoke at the event.

One survivor of domestic violence, who shared her story at the Clothesline Project said she hopes her experiences inspire others to break away from violence.

“I really was shocked that it was happening to me,” said Joy Smith, domestic violence survivor with the YWCA.

For the second year, violence survivors were able to choose a shirt, grab a marker and break their silence.

Each shirt hung at the clothesline shared a different message or story from a violence survivor. The shirts share messages like “strength within,” “you matter” and “break the silence.”

Cynthia Grier, community advocate, said survivors are often overlooked.

“It can be your neighbors. It can be you. Because violence takes place in a lot of different ways. Most people think of physical abuse, but there's also financial, there's also verbal,” said Grier. “If there’s someone who right now is in a situation where they don’t think there’s somewhere to go, where they don’t think they’ll be able to make it out, it’s important for them to see that people have made it out.”

While creating a safe space for survivors to speak out, the event also reminds victims they are not alone.

“There are people out here, there are agencies out here that are able to help you, to encourage you, to get you out of this situation. And if you're not ready to leave, to at least know that there is something or someone you can turn to,” said Smith.

Participants were also offered refreshments, and resources for violence from community agencies. Members of the YWCA, Youngstown State University and Compass all showed their support for the survivors by creating their own shirts.