The Bronx Clothesline Project got underway Tuesday with educators hoping the words of victims on T-shirts will have an impact on young people.

Students from John Phillip Sousa Middle School 142 observed sometimes painful messages on hundreds of T-shirts as part of the program. The messages were written by survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and other violent crimes. The Clothesline Project, run by the Bronx District Attorney?s Office, is designed to break the silence surrounding victimization.

Students say the shirts stirred emotional feelings. "I saw a T-shirt that says 'My daddy touched me,' and it's never happened to me, but I feel sad for that person," one student said.

The principal says it's a powerful experience that will hopefully teach the students to avoid becoming perpetrators and to speak up when someone is victimized.