"Everyone has a story about this place. We ask, and we listen."
SparkPoint's listening practice: we gather residents' stories on one question at a time and take what we hear to the people who can act on it.
Community story collection is StoryLab's core practice today. Each collection takes one question shaping community well-being, like health care access, food, recovery after Helene, or what it's like to be a student here. Stories come in through interviews, short written prompts, youth-led activities and listening sessions. StoryLab reads across them for strengths, needs and patterns, and the summary goes to the people who can act on it. Next comes the StoryLab studio, planned for the Resilience Hub: a place to record stories and oral histories and turn them into captioned video and archives, with Media Navigators helping run it.
Why it exists
Decisions about a community are better when they start from what its people are actually living. StoryLab makes that experience visible, and useful to the people deciding what happens next.
What you'll experience
- Short, anonymous story prompts and recorded interviews
- Community listening sessions and youth-led activities
- A plain-language summary of what was heard
- Coming with the Hub: a studio for recording stories and oral histories
Who it's for
- Residents with a story to share
- Partners who want to understand a need
- Schools and youth groups
- Funders supporting community learning
Ideal partners
- Schools
- Nonprofits
- Health and county partners
- Neighborhood groups
Outcomes
- A clearer picture of local strengths and needs
- Programs and partnerships shaped by lived experience
- Residents who see their stories lead somewhere
Ready to explore StoryLab?
SparkPoint's listening practice: we gather residents' stories on one question at a time and take what we hear to the people who can act on it.