January 21 2004
but what they all had in common was
Write Around Portland, or WRAP, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to giving typically
marginalized people a voice through writing.
The reading was the culmination of a 10-week
fall season series of citywide workshops. The
evening was also an opportunity to unveil
Stillness Is the Opening, the newest anthology of
participant work published by WRAP.
n a rainy Sunday evening last month, more than 140
people braved the grim weather and crowded into the
downtown First Congregational Church for a literary
event. The readers at the podium were not, as one might
expect, well-known writers. On the contrary, they were all local
people whose voices are often not heard at all. The audience was
WRAP was founded in 1998 by Ben
diverse, with hair colors ranging from gray to green.
Moorad and Liza Halley. The two met while
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Write
Around
Portland
stacks up
when it
comes to
building
| community
through the
written word
working together with homeless youth at
Outside In. They discovered that they shared
a common interest in writing and a desire to
build community. WRAP was their way of
combining both passions.
The concept behind WRAP is simple: use
volunteers to facilitate writing workshops in
partnership with community organizations
around the city. The objectives, however, are
more complex: to give voice to individuals
who are typically overlooked by mainstream
society, to build community, to enhance
self-reliance and self-esteem and to promote
cooperative diversity.
WRAP has conducted workshops at senior
centers, at correctional facilities, at community
centers and at domestic abuse shelters. WRAP
has served recovering addicts, at-risk youth,
low-income housing residents and migrant
workers. In addition to the workshops conduct-
ed concurrently three times a year, WRAP also
publishes an anthology of participant work and
gathers the diverse groups together for an
opportunity to share their words with each
other and the public.
WRAP tries to make it as easy as possible
for people to participate in workshops. They
provide child care if necessary, hand out free
bus passes and provide snacks and journals for
all participants. And WRAP makes sure every
one feels welcome.
Co-founder Halley notes that some partic
ipants may “feel marginalized locally. Maybe
they were kicked out their house because
they were gay or because they had addiction
issues.” An important component of the pro
gram involves going out into the community
to places that are already safe and comfort
able for participants.
“You have to he super accessible to make
community change,” notes Halley. Regardless
of participant circumstances, an interest in
writing and sharing stories is the common
thread that links the diverse communities that
make up WRAP. Even if participants don’t
consider themselves low income or on the
fringe of society, they benefit from sharing
their stories.
Telling stories that need to be told
ince the organization s inception, the pro
gram has given voice to more than 750
participants, including numerous members
A fragment from the poem “Can You Hear Me Now?” by Aubrey M onroe, Sexual Minority
Youth Resource Center writing group participant. H er entire poem has been published in Write
Around Portland’s latest anthology. Stillness Is the Opening.
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