Seen, heard, valued

Most people have lived lives worth sharing, from challenges to exciting moments to overcoming obstacles, but not all have the resources or the knowledge to share their personal tales.

Enter the StoryBridge Network, a relatively new non-profit organization which runs workshops teaching people how to write and share their life stories.

“Stories bring us together and bridge us to our connected humanity,” said co-founder and executive director, Patlee Creary, who holds a PhD in peace and conflict studies from the University of Manitoba.

While Creary was working on a research paper in school, she focused on storytelling methodology and the experiences of highly educated women who were also newcomers. She sat and met with such women while conducting her research.

“As a newcomer feeling alienated, sitting with those women made me feel confident,” said Creary, who moved to Winnipeg from Jamaica in 2010.

She said confidence is a big part of the StoryBridge Network.

“We find when people engage with us, they get more confident and move out of ‘survival jobs’” she said. “They take that strength to their families and their jobs.”

The StoryBridge runs workshops, programs, and fundraising events that provide coaching in writing, public speaking, and other forms of expression. Creary said they use a trauma-sensitive and mental well-being lens.

“When we create spaces to make a strength-based narrative, we can talk about this narrative and story of resilience rather than defeat,” she said.

Before StoryBridge’s formation, Creary worked with other Winnipeg non-profits, running storytelling workshops and programs.

“The non-profit landscape (in Winnipeg) has heart, but without the infrastructure you’re not able to do everything,” Creary said.

Her storytelling program could only run when organizations had the resources to bring in workshops. But “it was difficult to maintain,” Creary said.

“There’s a hunger for this in the community. I’m seeing this need, we have the intellectual property to run it, so let’s see if we can maintain it,” she said.

Since the launch of StoryBridge, it has held free events across the city and in Selkirk.

“The golden thing here is our stories shape the way we understand ourselves,” Creary said. “You cannot have stable mental health and be a contributing community member if you feel alone.”

The StoryBridge Network is set to host its annual We Are All Stories fundraising event on Saturday, June 6 at 319 Elgin Ave., inside RRC Polytech’s downtown campus.

Creary will present excerpts from her book Rebel. Mother. Queen. and the event will also a performance by the Roots in Harmony Choir, as well as other readings from participants who wrote their stories with StoryBridge.

Tickets and more information on how to get involved with StoryBridge are available at thestorybridge.ca