Stories of Hope: A playlist of stories from Storytellers Project, Week 6

Even when you need to #StayAtHome, we know you want to feel connected to your community. And creating empathy and understanding is vital in times of uncertainty.  So the Storytellers Project has put together a playlist of true, personal stories shared by your neighbors from across the country. These stories are uplifting. They showcase perseverance, family bonds, life-changing decisions, love and new beginnings as we connect over our most deeply held values. Look for it every Thursday.

Week 6 shows us that hope and faith can get us through anything.

Making a difference isn’t always fast or easy

Trevor Nourse was the kid in high school who did all the drugs, but he got sober and dedicated himself to telling his story to at-risk youth. At first, he's energized by the chance to save lives. But after no one reaches out, and one kid dies, another chooses to live on the street and one goes missing, he gives up. But a year later, he sees the missing kid in a sober meeting and she says his talk that day stayed with her and made a difference -- and his faith is restored.

VIDEO: Watch Trevor recount his story.

LISTEN TO WEEK 1: Uplifting Stories that restore our faith in humankind.

Prison can change a man

Marcus Simmons’ family is devastated by gun violence and poverty. His mother is paralyzed after a shooting and the family of eight is homeless. Marcus turns to selling drugs to support his family, and acknowledges now that he didn't know any other options or examples. After accidentally killing someone who was attempting to rob him, Marcus spends time in jail. With 23 hours of solitude in a 5-by-8 cell, he has a lot of time to think and mourn and pray. When his mother sends him money for the commissary and a letter telling him to take care and come home, he resolves to do just that. Now he teaches welding at a community college, and is passionate about caring for his body and mind.

VIDEO: Watch Marcus as he shares his story on stage in Lafayette, Louisiana. 

LISTEN TO WEEK 2: Stories about adventures that show us how strong we can be.

The gift of a second chance

Lee Rood’s credit card is stolen. She and her husband file a police report that a detective explains will go nowhere. So she and her husband, an amateur sleuth, stake out the area where the card is stolen and spot the thief. The man gets 14 days in jail and it seems like the story is over. But shortly thereafter, Lee’s husband is diagnosed with a fast-spreading brain tumor and he dies. Six months later, she runs into the thief. He tells her that his time in jail was his longest experience of sobriety in years, and now he has a job and is doing OK. She reflects on the idea that there's always so much more to a story than we know, and she's thankful this man got a second chance to live his life, even though she and her husband will not

VIDEO: Watch Lee as she shares her story.

LISTEN TO WEEK 3: Stories that confirm family is everything.  

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise

Shondiin Silversmith grows up on a Navajo reservation in Arizona and studies journalism. She pursues her education all the way to Columbia University in New York City. A professor there discourages her from covering indigenous communities, saying that no one will care about her people or her stories. But she dedicates herself to proving him wrong, and she works hard. She is hired by The Arizona Republic, where she writes a story about a Hopi wedding that made it to the front page of Paste BN, proving her professor wrong. She's one of only a handful of indigenous people working at the national level in American journalism.

AUDIO: Listen to Shondiin share her story.

Opportunities are blessings

Hélène Biandudi Hofer, the first black pageant contestant to become Wendy, the red-headed fast-food icon, tells a story about how that almost didn’t happen. Thankfully it does because the experience ends up having a lifelong influence on her.

VIDEO: Watch Hélène tell her story.

A Dreamer can achieve any dreams

Brian De Los Santos is in middle school when he finds out he is undocumented. He brings home a permission slip for a field trip and his parents have to tell him why he doesn’t have the appropriate identification for interstate travel. His parents explain to him the desperate consequences of being undocumented, but say believe in God, work hard and anything can happen. Brian graduates from college and gets a fellowship in Washington, D.C., and is there when President Obama announces the DREAM Act, and he feels more American. He starts a career in journalism and dedicates himself to covering diverse communities in American media.

VIDEO: Watch Brian as he shares his story on stage in Palm Springs, California.

A note from our National Presenting Sponsor, Humana

Working together to help local food banks

If you’ve tried making a fabric mask and aren’t handy with a sewing machine, maybe you’ll relate.

Shortly after the CDC recommended cloth face coverings, the Southern Smooth Talkers, a team of Humana At Home nurses, talked about their problems making masks. Tena Lang mentioned her mother’s skills sewing masks with layers of cotton and backing for thorough air filter.

Tena’s mother sent the Southern Smooth Talkers fabric masks. Instead of payment, she asked people to pay it forward and donate to their local food banks.

The Southern Smooth Talkers responded in a big way, creating a “food bank challenge.” They raised money for food banks across the country, using Humana’s charitable donation match to maximize donations.

By coming together, the Southern Smooth Talkers supported communities in need, showing that a little teamwork can create a lot of hope.

Want to spread hope to those in need of food during the COVID-19 health crisis? Consider donating to Feeding America.

Coming Next Week

Week 7 showcases new beginnings that offer us a new path or new lease on life.

• Bethany is a 50-something transgender woman who tells a story about the importance of representation, as she searched for who she was supposed to be, and did not find anyone like her in LGBT popular culture and media.
• When Carly started having kids, she got sucked into mom blogs and their aspirational epiphanies, and she was desperate for the day her life would turn around and feel more like those smooth, easy mom-blog stories.
• When Jan was a young girl, she ate Taiwanese food. But as she got older, her friendship circle expanded, and so did her palate, adding mac and cheese and PB&J. Now she blends Southeast Asian flavors with American ones as part of her ice cream shop.
• Meat is at the center of all holidays and celebrations for this big Hispanic family, and a mom tries to navigate her daughters becoming vegetarians, even wondering, who will they marry? But traditions are kept, even as recipes change.
• A female veteran was raped while in Iraq, and returned home with PTSD, and became homeless with her children. But she asked for help, and the VA helped her rebuild her life.
• A young woman becomes homeless for years, but finishes college, launches a career, and with the kindness of strangers and new friends, builds her own Christmas traditions.