Our Online Community

As we approach a new season, we are so moved by the way our writers have been using the ZOOM platform to bridge the multitude of distances that have set us apart, as the act of passing along the dare to care--  the cornerstone of Herstory’s method and magic—creates connectedness, community across an ever-widening geographical landscape, while each new piece of writing adds to the movement for equity, inclusion and compassion,  and the restoration of our most basic human rights, one story at a time.

As we continue to offer our workshops online, there is a silver lining in that we are no longer bound by the difficulties posed by the lack of accessibility to transportation and the endemic segregation of our neighborhoods, each in its own silo.

• From Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter/ This is Everybody’s Movement: This 2-hour weekly workshop, facilitated by Miranda Saenz brings together young people from high schools and colleges all over Long Island and beyond in creating a body of stories about life in this tumultuous time.

Tuesdays 6-8 PM via ZOOM

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• Hear our Voices/ Immigrant Stories for our Time:  This 2-hour weekly workshop is offered in Spanish by Belinda Castiblanco and Milady Gonzalez, engaging community members from Rural Migrant Ministries, Long Island Head Start,  high school and college students, along with local, national, and international participants writing in the language of their dreams to build bridges of action and hope. For more information, please contact Milady Gonzalez, our program coordinator at mgonzalez@herstorywriters.org.

Wednesdays 6:30- 8:30 PM via ZOOM

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Escucha nuestras Voces / Historias de inmigrantes para nuestro tiempo:

Este taller semanal de 2 horas es ofrecido en español por Belinda B. Castiblanco y Milady Gonzalez.  El taller involucra, entre otros, a miembros de la comunidad de Rural & Migrant Ministry, Long Island Head Start, estudiantes de escuelas secundarias y de universidades, junto con estudiantes locales, participantes nacionales e internacionales quienes escriben en el idioma de sus sueños para construir puentes de acción y esperanza. Para obtener más información, comuníquese con Milady Gonzalez, nuestra coordinadora de programas a mgonzalez@herstorywriters.org.

Todos los miércoles de 6:30 a 8:30 PM vía ZOOM

• Stories For Liberation/ Memoir as a Tool for Action: This 2-hour weekly intergenerational campus/community workshop, facilitated by Helen Dorado Alessi, Milady Gonzalez, and John Dios, brings together neighborhood elders, young Dreamers, organizational activists, legislators, and college students with the goal of generating stories that will advance the movement for equity, inclusion and justice at this time when every one of our voices is needed to protect our most basic human rights. For more information, please contact Milady Gonzalez at mgonzalez@herstorywriters.org.

Thursdays 6:30-8:30 PM via ZOOM

• Black Student Voices: Memoir Writing to Create a Student Movement:  This 2-hour weekly workshop, facilitated by Barbara Levin and Amber Davis, creates a vibrant and safe space for young people to raise their voices to illuminate the entrenched injustices and enduring strengths that have become even more pronounced in the wake of COVID-19.

Wednesdays 6:30-8:30 PM via ZOOM 

• Shaping Spaces/ Student Disability Stories for Our Time:  This 2-hour workshop, facilitated by Janelle Gagnon and Jennifer Baker is open to any student who identifies as having a disability, be it physical, cognitive/psychological/neurological, mental illness, chronic illness, being immune compromised, or any other disability.  Coming together each week over zoom, students will write with the goal of building on lessons learned during the pandemic, when conditions they have been experiencing all along began to affect the larger population, to reshape the world into one that is accommodating for all. Contact jgagnon@herstorywriters.org for more information or to join! 

Wednesdays 6-8 PM via ZOOM

• Freedom to Love:  This 2-hour intergenerational workshop, facilitated by Janelle Gagnon, Daniel Menzo and Jennifer Baker, will create a safe, vibrant space for people of all ages to shape their stories of the many ways of loving in an ever-changing, ever-evolving landscape, with the goal of bringing their stories out into the world. Contact , daniel.menzo@stonybrook.edu, or jenbaker56@aol.com for more information or to join! 

 Thursdays 6-8 PM via ZOOM

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• Disability Stories for Our Time/ Activist and Intergenerational Shaping Spaces: This two-hour intergenerational workshop, facilitated by Janelle Gagnon and Marcela Contreras, is building a space for disabled people and disabled activists to shape their stories in community with other people with disabilities. This group is open to anyone who identifies as having a disability, be it physical, cognitive, neurodiversity, madness, mental illness, chronic illness, or any other disability experience. Join us in crafting stories and pushing toward a more just world for disabled people. Contact  for more information or to join! 

 Saturdays 3-5 PM EST via ZOOM 

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• Passing the Torch: Memoirs from the LGBTQ and Feminist Movements: This two-hour intergenerational workshop invites LGBTQ* and feminist activists to share the individual stories that make up their movements. Activists young and old, experienced and new are welcome to join writer-facilitators Jennifer Baker, Maryann Calendrille, and Valerie San Filippo as we discover new ways to inspire and guide the participants and advocates of these movements for generations to come. Contact Jen Baker at  for more information or to join! ​​

 Tuesdays 6:30-8:30pm via ZOOM 

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For Parents, Grandparents, and Guardians/Para padres, abuelos y guardianes

In partnership with Long Island Head Start, we are offering weekly workshops in Spanish and English to empower families and keep those who are struggling with to provide their children with the most basic resources connected during this unprecedented time.  These series of online workshops is offered every Tuesday morning in English and every Tuesday afternoon in Spanish via ZOOM.  For more information, please contact Milady Gonzalez, our program coordinator at mgonzalez@herstorywriters.org

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En asociación con Long Island Head Start, estamos ofreciendo talleres semanales en español e inglés para empoderar a las familias y mantener a aquellos que están luchando para proporcionarles a sus hijos los recursos más básicos conectados durante este tiempo sin precedentes. Esta serie de talleres en línea se ofrece todos los martes por la mañana en inglés y todos los martes por la tarde en español a través de ZOOM. Para obtener más información, comuníquese con Milady Gonzalez, nuestra coordinadora de programas a mgonzalez@herstorywriters.org

We invite you to watch a Facebook Live presentation by Alexandra Velez, founder and director of Flutterflies, to meet our Head Start team and learn more about our programming and dreams.