The Story Project has been happening this summer throughout Oregon, in Portland, The Dalles, Astoria, Newberg, and now in Eugene. It is funded by the Oregon Community Foundation, and sponsored by MediaRites of Portland, a Peabody award-winning nonprofit production organization dedicated to telling the stories of diverse cultures and giving voice to the unheard through the arts, education, and media projects.

Personal stories have the power to change lives, and in an effort to find more common ground between community members, we will present an afternoon of personal stories from the heart.

My close friend, Dmae Lo Roberts, the Executive Director and Founder of Media Rites, has asked me to curate this project in Eugene, knowing my advocacy and passion for our unhoused neighbors.

The five storytellers will be people from that community who are assisted in our church’s Helping Hearts Program. We will all gather in the Chapel of the church on Saturday, September 20th, and they will tell ten-minute stories based on the theme of “Courage, Grace and Grit.”

The audience will experience their stories, and will then be invited to share a personal story of their own, if so inclined. It’s an opportunity to listen and respect, in which we all need practice.