University of Arizona College of Public Health
"I presented the Digital Stories to a group of educators and law enforcement officials. The stories on substance abuse received a tremendous response and I ran out of DVD's to distribute. A colleague took a copy home to show his son to start a conversation that they had been needing to have." Workshop participant
In the spring of 2006, the Sunnyside Family Resource & Wellness Center launched a digital storytelling project through a mini-grant funded by Project Export from the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. Creative Narrations trainers worked with community health workers to create an outreach tool for their diabetes classes, and Sunnyside High School students to create stories about substance abuse. Upon completion of this project, the College of Public Health recognized the potential of digital storytelling as a medium for their outreach and advocacy work. In the summer of 2006, Creative Narrations returned to train a combination of University staff and faculty, partners from the Yaqui and D’nai communities, and locals from South Tucson. Participants have already led two trainings, one locally in Tucson at the public library, and the other on the D’nai reservation in Northern Arizona. View sample story on diabetes, substance abuse, environmental health.

Spreading the Stories
In the fall of 2005, Creative Narrations and MassImpact ramped up their digital storytelling efforts with Spreading the Stories, a “train the trainer” program open to non-profits throughout New England. Spreading the Stories marked the first time MassImpact brought representatives from various fields together for ongoing training and networking. Two participants from eight organizations participated in an intensive training to learn multimedia and storytelling skills. At the end of the training, each organization emerged with one - two digital stories and a workplan for integrating digital storytelling into their work. All organizations also received up to twenty hours of follow-up support for program implementation. Participating organizations included Year-Up, where digital storytelling has become part of the writing and technology curricuum, Sociedad Latina, where youth have created stories around neighborhood planning issues, Community Catalyst, where staff now use digital storytelling to advocate for health care, and UMass’s CTC Vista project, where Vista Volunteers have trained peers and youth. View stories here!

Mass Housing Finance Agency
In Roxbury, MA, stories are preserving the past while shaping the future. Thaddeus Miles, Director of Public Safety for MassHousing, first learned of digital storytelling through his fellowship at the Center for Reflective Community Practice at MIT. Looking for ways to preserve the story of the resident-driven campaign at Camfield Estates Housing Complex to challenge HUD’s foreclosure, Mr. Miles spearheaded the production of a digital story documenting these events. Excited by the potential of these stories to build community, to record stories of senior citizens, and to educate youth, MassHousing contracted with Creative Narrations to conduct a “train the trainer” workshop series with the staff of the Neighborhood Technology Centers throughout Roxbury and Dorchester. Since this initial training in the fall of 2002, the Neighborhood Technology Centers have integrated digital storytelling into their afterschool programs, participated in the Boston Cyberarts Festival, and launched MassImpact, a consortium designed to leverage technology to empower and educate communities across the Commonwealth. Integrating digital story, video, and music production, MassImpact is fostering community resources, vision, and entrepeneurship. For more information, visit www.massimpact.org or email info@massimpact.org