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Story of Impact: Lifting Voices, Building Community: Story Exchanges with LGBTQIA+ Youth
In Houston, the Montrose Center’s Hatch Youth Program provides a safe and affirming space for queer teens to find community, celebrate their identities, and grow together. Through weekly peer support groups, youth explore local resources, learn queer history, and build empowering connections. Once a semester, the N4 Story Exchange is integrated into these sessions, fostering storytelling and deep listening skills while strengthening peer relationships.
Initially, some students hesitated to participate, feeling unsure about sharing personal stories in a group setting or navigating the vulnerability it required. Juju Faragher, the Youth Services Specialist at Montrose and an N4-trained facilitator, reflected on the experience, asking, “How can we use the Story Exchange to truly listen to our community—ensuring they feel safe, fostering mutual consent, and, most importantly, building meaningful connections?”
Guided by this reflection, the Montrose staff thoughtfully re-framed their approach, incorporating elements of the Story Exchange into smaller, daily activities at the center to build trust and comfort. By the time the Story Exchange was reintroduced during a later session, students who had previously opted out returned, fully engaging with and finding joy in the process.
One standout moment perfectly captured the program’s impact. Two initially shy students, one attending the program for the first time, paired up during a session and quickly bonded over shared interests during icebreakers—so much so that Juju had to gently remind them to lower their voices. By the time the Story Exchange began, the two had swapped shoes, explaining they wanted to “walk in each other’s shoes” for the retelling. This playful yet profound act symbolized the empathy and connection fostered through the experience. Since that day, the pair has remained close friends.
The Montrose Center’s Story Exchange work highlights how community-building tools like these can transcend traditional classroom enrichment and foster belonging in marginalized communities. Beyond storytelling skills, these sessions provide a space where queer youth feel seen, heard, and celebrated. The program’s success demonstrates the potential for initiatives like the Story Exchange to inspire compassion and understanding in communities everywhere.
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