Our Story

The Storytellers Project is my sacred purpose, it is the culmination of everything I have ever wanted to be or do, the reason for my experiences with trauma and mental illness, and the transformation that occurred in order for me to live my best life. It is the synthesis of all of my education, work experience, life experience and activism, that helps others to heal and transform their own lives. The idea for The Storytellers Project came when I was teaching after school programs in Denver schools. There was a young man who was getting in to trouble nearly every day. One day I pulled him aside and started to ask him about his family and home life. It was clear to me that his behaviors had more to do with trauma than any other factor, I recognized this because of my own experiences of growing up with domestic violence and abuse. The little boy told me he didn’t have a father because his father was murdered in front of him. All of a sudden all his behaviors made sense. I went back to the other adults and asked them if they knew about this. “He just uses that as a crutch”, said one teacher. I was stunned. “I went through things and you went through things we turned out okay.” As I thought of my own struggles with PTSD, depression and anxiety I thought, I definitely did not turn out okay. I asked her if we were teaching him how to cope with what he experienced, “I know I am not teaching him how to cope with it.” I knew I had to do something about this. I begin to create and test some of my first lesson plans for The Storytellers Project. As a child art and books provided the escape and stress relief from the poverty, emotional, physical and sexual abuse I experienced. As an adult telling my story was healing and reduced stigma and shame normally associated with these experiences. I knew I had something more to offer the children I worked with. The Storytellers Project is my way of sharing that resilience with the youth, breaking and healing the cycle of violence, and increasing the love and compassion in the world.

Aubrey N. Valencia

Founder and Executive Director

The Storytellers Project