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	Bringing Together Priest's Victims By Dale Carruthers The Observer June 17, 2009 http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1660784 I rene Williams, Dianne Gauthier and Lise Glass held each other's hands for support. At times they choked up and were barely able to speak. They cried one minute and smiled the next. The topic they were speaking about is a difficult one: sexual abuse. The three women, childhood friends who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of the same priest, refused to be victimized any longer. So they made a survivors' quilt entitled "Shattered Lives Held Together by a Common Thread." And on Thursday it was unveiled at its home for the next three months, the Sarnia library. "This quilt has provided these women with a way of expressing their feelings through art," said Irene Williams, who told the story behind the quilt at the unveiling. In attendance were Mayor Mike Bradley and County Warden Jim Burns. The quilt will hang in the library's teen section. "The reason why we've chosen this area is because this is the target group that we want to bring the knowledge to," said public services manager Susie Beynon. Made up of 30 different sections, the quilt was sewn and tufted by Lise Glass, who received contributions from other survivors. So far, 88 women have come forward with sexual abuse allegations against the priest. "We're all held together by one thread," said Glass, who estimated it took her nearly six months to complete the quilt. Some of the sections have just a single word, such as future, truth or innocence, while others have passages and pictures. But the message of the quilt is clear -- awareness. "Our children are our most valuable natural resource we have on this earth. You have to be aware. And that's what this quilt is -- It's an awareness," said Dianne Gauthier. Contact: dcarruthers@theobserver.ca
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