Renee Yohe

We ask Renee to come with us, to leave this broken night. She says she’ll go to rehab tomorrow, but she isn’t ready now. It is too great a change. We pray and say goodbye, it is hard to leave without her.” Renee is only 19, yet she has gone through more then anyone may ever experience in their entire lifetime. She is a drug addict. She is depressed. She cuts her arms with the razor blades of her past. She is struggling to be loved. Trying to find a way to escape the sadness and the memories that haunt her. Trying to make her life at peace.

Renee is currently living in Florida, and recovering from her addictions and self-injuries. With the help of her friends, she was able to find love and help, even though she was first denied detox at several clinics. At this point, Renee and friends began making tee shirts to help pay for her treatment. Several tee shirts later, Renee and the other teens realized that Renee wasn’t the only one in need of help, but thousands and hundreds of others were in the same situation. After brain storming ideas on ways to help, then came the idea to start, To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA). This organization is a way to provide hope for anyone that need help with recovery, whether it be drugs, depression or self-injury. This organization has now gone nation wide, and has help countless numbers of people.

Having a past life, such as Renee’s, isn’t easy to forget, let alone live with everyday of your future. Everyday she will remember what she has been through and how far she has made it. Having the strength to keep going is very inspiring not just to me, but to hundreds of people.

Looking at someone like Renee and seeing how strong she can be, really inspires me. It reminds me to keep going through hard times. It helps me to remember that there is hope and love to be found. Renee encourages me to be brave and strong. Because if she can make it through, so can I. “Tell them to remember hope. We have hope.”