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We all tell stories!

When we embarrassed ourselves in front of a crush…

When the teacher yelled at us…

When we lost a loved one…

When we accidentally clogged the toilet at a friends and then their mom had to unclog it for you…

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What if we used the stories of adversity

for healing?

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What if we put SURVIVORS &

their experiences

at the

CENTER OF CHANGE?

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How can WE build the skills for survivors to share

THEIR STORIES?

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Connecting the Dots

Kết nối các linh hồn

A Survivor-Centered Approach

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01

02

03

04

05

06

ACE awareness

Objectives

Framework

Measurements of Success

Limitations & Consideration

Conclusions

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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01

ACE

Awareness

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Relevance of ACE to the Intervention

Approximately ¾ of high school students in Vietnam have experienced at least one ACE (Tran et al. 2015)
Despite the high percentage of students who reported ACE incidents, there is still a lack of research and awareness surrounding the topic
Many people do not realise they have experienced an ACE or how it impacts their livelihoods

⇒ How can we use storytelling as an educational tool?

01

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Our approach is two-fold.

Our intervention reaps benefits at a personal level and a societal level.

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02

MAIN

OBJECTIVES

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— NATIVE HOPE

“They connect us to our pasts while also giving us the wisdom we need to guide our futures in fruitful ways.”

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OUR OBJECTIVES

ACE Education

Build a Self-Narrative

Action

Educate participants on ACE
Understand the effects of ACE
Help them identify when they experienced ACE

Acknowledge when ACE occurred
Understand how that affects them today
Be able to cohesively present that story

Build leaders in the community
Able to use their stories for personal or public benefit

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2

3

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03

Framework & Workshop Content

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Pre-work

Identify a Facilitator: CBO/SCDI staff member, volunteer, professional with writing experience and working with vulnerable populations

Knowledge of workbook curriculum
Trial run

Recruit Participants: Contacts clients currently served by the CBO/SCDI to gauge interest

Survivors of ACE
Appropriate reading and writing skills (age minimum of 18 years)
Advertise activity as a way to help their community and gain valuable skills

Gather Materials: Necessary tools and document
Location: Larger gathering space that allows for participants’ privacy while writing

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ACE Education

Define ACE and different types	Overview on ACEs and the most common types (physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, parental separation) Help participants understand if they have experienced any ACEs
ACE Risk Factors	Different populations are more vulnerable to ACEs Generational trauma can compound the effects Dispel myths of who can and cannot be affected by ACE
Impacts of ACE	Explain how childhood ACE incidents can affect adulthood outcomes Ex: physical health, mental health, drug use, social relationships, financial stability

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2. Creating a Self-Narrative

ACE Education → Understanding personal experiences with ACE

Failure to make meaning out of negative experiences may lead to prolonged grief, psychosomatic illness, and negative coping mechanisms (Lim et al., 2015)

We propose materials to help survivors identify an ACE, understand their experience, process those emotions, and the effects on their lives.

Problem:

Survivors may feel that their trauma took away their power and voice

Solution:

Build survivors’ agency, understanding, and power over their story

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Supporting Materials

Curriculum

Emotional Safety Toolkit & Resilience
Science & Power of Storytelling
Stages of Writing During Difficult Times
Plot Development
Public Speaking
Privacy and Safety Concerns

Pros

Low-cost
Applicable curriculum and resources

Cons

Written in English, requires translation and re-contextualization
Copyrighted
Requires reading and writing proficiency

Women’s Justice Now Workshop

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Supporting Materials

Curriculum

Story of Self: Reflection of personal values and experiences
Story of Us: What are our shared values and experiences?
Story of Now: What are our challenges, hopes and actions?
Build stories and comradery

Pros

Written and facilitated by Sandy Dang - from Ha Noi

Cons

Cost (~$600 USD for limited access)
Barriers to access

Internet access
Zoom literacy

Public Narrative Training by CoInnovate Consulting

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3. Coping Skills for Trauma/PTSD

AIM: Limit retraumatization of participants as they recount stressful experiences.

STRATEGY: Building coping skills not only helps prevent retraumatization, but it ensures participants develop long-term skills for everyday use

Positive coping skills (meditation, communication, redirection)

Negative coping skills (self-harm, substance use, aggression

Signs of anxiety and PTSD

At home health remedies when access to medical facilities is limited

Local CBO’s can recommend facilities or practices common to the local culture.

Engagement strategy: Use stories to test your clients! Have them read or listen to a story. The characters use positive or negative coping skills. Test to see if they can spot the different types of coping skills!

AIM: Limit retraumatization as we ask participants to recount stressful experiences.

Building coping skills not only helps with this intervention in the short-term, but it also ensures that the participants acquire long-term skills for everyday use.

Positive coping skills (Meditation, communication, redirection)
Negative coping skills (Self-harm, substance use, aggression)
Signs of anxiety and PTSD
Knowledge from field visits: Due to the lack of medical use in many populations, CBO’s may be able to recommend healthy at-home remedies and practices common to their clients.

Tip! To keep listeners engaged, use stories where the characters experience an ACE and use healthy or unhealthy coping mechanisms! Test participants knowledge to identify what kind of coping mechanism the character used.

Make sure the participant knows that they can bring a friend

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4. Build a support network

Build group relationships through shared meals

Encourage the participant’s willingness to tell their story to survivors with similar experiences

Allow other survivors to share their own coping skills, help-seeking strategies, and encouragement.

Connect interested participants to other initiatives to get involved - use their knowledge as a tool!

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5. Logistics

x

40 Minute Sessions

4 Total Sessions

Over 4 Consecutive Weeks

4 Meals Included

4

x

4

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04

Measurements of Success

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Success Indicators

ACE Education

Build a Self-Narrative

Action

Survey participant’s ACE ability to recognize ACE
Be able to identify where in their life they experienced ACE

ACE questionnaire

Coping skills literacy

Final story at end of program
Before and after survey

How likely are you to share your story?
On a scale of 1-5, do you feel empowered?
Are you proud of what you wrote?

Interest levels in:

Participating in future workshops
Facilitating future programs
Speaking to other community members

Survey participants to identify their strengths
Have participants propose an action item

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3

The participant will complete the storytelling workshop and will have a final product at the end of the program. They will identify the skills they learned as useful tools to reclaim their narratives. Before and after surveys will be completed by each participant to qualitatively track their progress. The survey will ask example questions like:

How likely are you to share your story?
On a scale of 1-5, do you feel empowered?
Are you proud of what you wrote?

Creation of active members; “Champion member”

With the conclusion of the program, select participants will feel empowered to want to engage further with their community and help others who have experienced similar challenges. All participants will be asked how interested they are in sharing their story with other peers or facilitating future programs.

We want to

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05

Limitations & Considerations

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Limitations & Considerations

Access to Transportation

Provide bus stipend to meeting location

Opportunity Cost of Attending

Offer one meal per session completed

Reservations of Sharing

Recruit clients with pre-established relationships

Vietnamese Context

People’s nervousness towards concepts of self-care

Given the structure of the intervention, there are predicted limitations to take into account. First, the possibility that a storytelling workshop could potentially retraumatize participants more than it helps them to heal. One way the intervention acts to mitigate this possibility is by spending a significant portion of the program on creating safe space. Section one of the workshop helps participants to develop a self-care plan and a few coping mechanisms in case they become overwhelmed during the writing process. We acknowledge that these forms of self-care may not align with traditional Vietnamese values, which is why it would be important for the facilitator to take the time and emphasize the importance of headspace and intentions before moving to the next stages.

Secondly, some participants might be reserved to share their story, especially if they have to work in a room with other people. A few strategies to ease them into the process might include physical barriers between participants while they are specifically writing. Privacy folders or separating to work in different rooms can help to create this distinction.

Finally, it might be difficult to find willing male participants due to existing gender norms. It might prove more productive to have sessions separated by gender.

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Limitations & Considerations

Access to Transportation

Provide bus stipend to meeting location

Opportunity Cost of Attending

Offer one meal per session completed

Reservations of Sharing

Recruit clients with pre-established relationships

Vietnamese Context

People’s nervousness towards concepts of self-care

Given the structure of the intervention, there are predicted limitations to take into account. First, the possibility that a storytelling workshop could potentially retraumatize participants more than it helps them to heal. One way the intervention acts to mitigate this possibility is by spending a significant portion of the program on creating safe space. Section one of the workshop helps participants to develop a self-care plan and a few coping mechanisms in case they become overwhelmed during the writing process. We acknowledge that these forms of self-care may not align with traditional Vietnamese values, which is why it would be important for the facilitator to take the time and emphasize the importance of headspace and intentions before moving to the next stages.

Secondly, some participants might be reserved to share their story, especially if they have to work in a room with other people. A few strategies to ease them into the process might include physical barriers between participants while they are specifically writing. Privacy folders or separating to work in different rooms can help to create this distinction.

Finally, it might be difficult to find willing male participants due to existing gender norms. It might prove more productive to have sessions separated by gender.

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L&Cs Cont.

Scope of Project

Smaller target audience

Measurability

No qualitative indicators of success

Gender Norms

Likelihood of male participants engaging at the same level

Bigger Picture

How to maintain momentum at the end of the intervention

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06

Survivors, Now Storytellers

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With Connecting the Dots,

we want survivors to show that they have expertise and something to give to their community.

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Therefore, participants are essential in every step of initiative creation.

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Storytellers Taking Action

Public Speakers	Derek Clark - Childhood Trauma Motivational Speaker
The Arts	Storytelling Initiative Vietnamese women of ethnic minority groups Training in photography and videography Published the minority lifestyle and perspective
Outreach Workers	Blue Dragon Clients now turned volunteers Opportunity for survivors to share their stories
Social Media	Letter to My Daughter Domestic abuse survivors Wrote and recorded themselves reading heartfelt letters to their daughters about domestic violence Powerful message to both their own daughters and daughters around the world

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Storytellers can be active community members in many ways.

CBO’s can tailor their initiatives with their clients.

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At the heart of Connecting the Dots are the survivors and their stories.

Let’s give them the tools to heal and also help others.

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Questions?

Thank you very much for your time, resources, and stories.

CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, and includes icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik