Programs for Nonprofits & Other Agencies

*Bring the healing power of creative writing to your organization**

Write Around Portland has been serving the Portland-Vancouver Metro region across Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington, Columbia, and Clark counties since 1999. And we’ve seen growth, transformations, and change in everyone from 4th graders to senior citizens.

Writing can change lives, and we’d love to partner with you to bring creative writing to your agency.

*Nonprofits, prisons, treatment centers, hospitals, retirement communities, and more!

Programs for Nonprofits

Our healing program is designed to appeal to writers at every skill level, especially those who don’t identify as writers at all!

Learn more about:

Writing Groups

Workplace Roundtables

Why Write Around Portland?

Our program helps organizations support clients with a wide variety of physical, mental, and social ailments.

Physical Impacts

Reduce healthcare visits
Lessen days spent in the hospital
Lessen pain
Improve immune function
Lower blood pressure
Lower resting heart rate
Reduce muscle tension
Facilitate recovery from illnesses

Mental Health Impacts

Reduce symptoms of major depression
Reduce symptoms of PTSD
Reduce the cognitive burden of trauma and stressful memories
Slow cognitive decline
Improve working memory
Help regulate behavior
Develop new coping skills
Increase resilience
Develop self-confidence
Reduce negative self-talk and self-criticism
Set goals for the future
Create a coherent narrative of the past

Social/Community Impacts

Strengthen social bonds
Help people feel safer in community
Improve the quality and quantity of interpersonal relationships
Increase self-care behaviors
Support personal growth
Help understand the world and establish new perspectives
Provide satisfaction, relaxation, and comfort
Develop a sense of pride for community and self
Feel a greater sense of belonging
Feel listened to and supported by others

“Before joining [the writing group], I was depressed and stayed home most of the time with no outlet or connection out in the real world and no outlet for my emotions, be they happiness or pain. Writing has changed my life in so many ways. I’ve learned to trust people and write feelings, to laugh and have fun. My facilitator and fellow writers gave me great encouragement. I was even afraid to ride the MAX before this, and now I ride the MAX alone and look forward to every day of my life. I want to write forever. Here no one puts me down for my mistakes and poor reading skills because of my dyslexia.”
Leah

Our Curriculum

Participant-Centered

In our program, we work to dismantle the distinction between “facilitator” and “participant” and avoid the traditional dynamics between “teacher” and “student.” When participants feel that it is their group instead of the facilitator’s, they have more of a personal investment in making sure that the session goes well and they are often much more engaged in all facets of the program.

Inductive Learning

Inductive learning encourages looking at writing as a process in which each step might yield exciting discoveries. It also means that everyone in the room might come up with their own definition of what makes an effective image, for example. This is the sort of intellectual, creative and respectful atmosphere that Write Around Portland strives to create, in which everyone is an expert and everyone is a writer.

Write Around Portland helped our residents break up the isolation and loneliness they’ve been contending with. The program is so organized and the communication is so thorough that it made for an absolutely wonderful experience that I can’t wait to offer it again!
Kellie, agency partner at REACH CDC

Organizations We’ve Partnered With

Since 1999, Write Around Portland has partnered with hundreds of nonprofits, hospitals, prisons, schools, and other agencies to provide therapeutic creative writing workshops. Here is a sampling from the last five years: