In her evocative 2018 essay Why Do We Turn to Stories in the Midst of a Disaster? writer/researcher Madeleine Wattenbarger penned these universal words while sharing her own experience in the 2017 Mexico City earthquake: 

“…after surviving a natural disaster, storytelling becomes a way to situate one’s self in time and space. It allows communities to locate themselves in relationship to devastation outside of immediate human control, and it can provide a powerful counter to media narratives that obscure their lived reality.”

The Umpqua Story Project: 10,000 Acts of Love 

On October 1, 2015, a mass shooting incident at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon (population just under 25,000), took the lives of nine people. In its wake, the Umpqua Story Project was born — supported by The Ford Family Foundation and the Douglas County (OR) Museum, and conducted by staff of Ashland-based nonprofit The Hearth.

Since The Hearth’s founding by now-Director Mark Yaconelli in early 2010, the organization has worked with traumatized communities to encourage healing, small towns to foster connection, and marginalized populations to increase awareness and respect. Along the way, they have trained myriad community leaders, nonprofits, pastors, teachers, and professional groups in the art of community storytelling.

The mission of The Hearth is straightforward: Transformational Storytelling - Healing Communities One Story At A Time. As per their website,( thehearthcommunity.com ), the group “has developed a variety of tested, transformative, accessible storytelling methods inviting people to write down, audio record, sing, photograph, upload, gather in circles, or stand in front of a microphone to share what they have lived. By providing safe and welcoming spaces, The Hearth transforms residents into neighbors, enemies into friends, and towns into communities.”

The Umpqua Story Project was created “…to help facilitate healing through personal storytelling…with the purpose of providing compassionate settings where people across the Umpqua Valley could share their experiences of kindness and generosity…”

Volunteers were trained in compassionate listening, and tables were set up in coffee shops, libraries, schools and other public spaces across the county. Locals were invited to share their experiences around the shooting via writing, audio, video, photos, or other creative avenues. 

The project website paints a vivid picture of the healing process. 

“For a small moment, there was only the pain, and the loss, and the empty silence. And then people began to act. A welder made some signs. Two women began to bake cookies. Restaurants brought food…a high school student set up a car wash. A harp player went down to the hospital. Businesses posted signs of prayer and encouragement…Churches and counseling centers and places of care were opened all hours. Little by little, the healing began. In response to one person’s act of violence, a community offered ten thousand acts of love.”

Thousand Oaks Remembers: ‘The Way We Truly Connect’

On November 8, 2019, a deeply moving event was created to mark the one-year anniversary of the 2018 back-to-back tragedies in the southern California city of Thousand Oaks (population 130,000). First, the community lost 12 people in a shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill. The next day, weary first responders moved from a massacre scene to firefighting duty as the Hill and Woolsey fires swept through the area, bringing forced evacuations and the ultimate destruction of more than 1,000 homes.

Guided in part by advisory support by ICTG and assistance from a facilitator trained by The Hearth, the community marked the anniversary by gathering for a night of storytelling from within.

“This is not a performance,” declared one of the emcees in opening remarks. “We are gathered here as a community. We are here to share some stories. Story connects us. Story brings us to the root of our humanity…takes us back to who we truly are and the way we truly connect.”

Are you, members of your household, your neighbors, or your staff prepared for potential Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), led by power utilities, Southern California Edison and PG&E? Both utility companies have developed plans to shut down power during critical fire weather in order to reduce the risk of wildfires. It is important to know that the PSPS could lead to multi-day power outages in many areas all over California during periods of extremely hot, dry and/or windy weather.

How long is a PSPS outage expected to last?
​The utility companies say that a PSPS outage will last as long as the potentially dangerous weather conditions exist, plus the amount of time it takes for their workers to inspect and repair their equipment in any affected area(s). They recommend that residents be prepared to endure a power outage lasting 3-5 days.

Are you prepared for a power outage lasting 3-5 days, or more?
​Power outages impact the whole community and can make it difficult for people to meet their basic needs, as well as:

• How will you communicate during those days? Consider having portable solar-power charging stations on hand, walkie talkies, as well as having communication plans prepared to let your loved ones or coworkers know your plans prior to power being shut off. 
• What business plans do you need to have in place during a power outage? Consider preparing automatic away messages for work.
• What basic supplies do you need on hand? Consider storing extra nonperishable food items, toiletries, as well as having cash on hand incase ATMs and other bank services are unavailable. 
• What preparations do you need in place medically? If you have not already done so, and you are eligible, complete a Southern California Edison Medical Baseline Allowance Application. This will not preclude your power being turned off, but will provide you with additional notice about when it will be turned off. Consider the possibility that you may need to evacuate voluntarily in order to maintain necessary medical practices which require sustained power. 

Further Resources