Community Partners
A program without walls
People & Stories / Gente y Cuentos brings literature and guided discussion into the places where people already gather. Together with trusted community organizations, we create welcoming spaces where every participant can listen, reflect, and be heard.
"I think it's so important, right now, to tell our stories, to share our stories. That's how we become known to each other."
Participant, Wesley Enhanced Living at Stapeley (2026)
How Partnership Works
We bring the program. Partners bring the community.
We provide a trained coordinator, carefully selected short stories, participant materials, and evaluation support. Partner organizations provide a dependable site contact, invite participants, and help maintain a consistent schedule and welcoming meeting space.
Programs are shaped for the people in the room and may be offered in English or Spanish, in person or virtually. Most series meet once a week for eight weeks and combine reading aloud, close attention to the text, thoughtful questions, guided discussion, and optional writing.
A consistent group
Participants return each week so trust, confidence, and discussion can deepen over time.
A reliable schedule
The partner and coordinator protect the agreed dates and support steady attendance.
An accessible setting
A comfortable room or dependable virtual connection helps everyone participate fully.
A shared commitment
Partners help create a respectful space where many interpretations and experiences can be heard.
Program Impact
How we measure growth
For People & Stories / Gente y Cuentos, impact is measured by participants' development in four domains: literacy, personal development, intellectual development, and intersubjective development.
Our program assessments were developed in partnership with Harvard University through the Humanities and Liberal Arts Assessment. Read the assessment excerpt.
Literacy
Reading, comprehension, interpretation, and growing confidence with literature.
Personal Development
Self-expression, reflection, confidence, and a stronger sense of voice.
Intellectual Development
Curiosity, critical thinking, and the ability to consider complex ideas.
Intersubjective Development
Listening closely, understanding different perspectives, and engaging respectfully with others.
2026-2027
Current and Recent Community Partners
Our partners include libraries, senior and residential communities, social-service organizations, schools, museums, and correctional facilities.
Select any partner name to open its program details. Language and program-format labels appear inside each entry.
New Jersey
Children's Home Society of New Jersey
Gente y Cuentos programs have served Spanish-speaking families and young women, including through virtual participation.
Harriet Bryan House / Elm Court / Princeton Community Housing
Recurring programs bring older adults together for literature, guided discussion, and connection across experiences.
FCI Fairton
English-language literature and discussion programs invite incarcerated participants to read closely, exchange ideas, and write.
FCI Fort Dix
Spanish-language Gente y Cuentos programs create a sustained space for close reading, discussion, and reflection.
Greenwood Elementary School
Evening Gente y Cuentos programs welcome Spanish-speaking parents and adults connected with the school community.
Greenwood House / Abrams Residence
Literature and discussion programs serve adults of varied ages, including residents in assisted living and physical recovery.
Lawrence Senior Center
Recurring People & Stories programs offer older adults a welcoming place to listen, reflect, and discuss literature together.
Morven Museum & Garden
Public Try It programs use short stories to explore themes such as home, community, and civic life.
Princeton Public Library
English- and Spanish-language public programs have included Crossing Borders and Gente y Cuentos.
Project Freedom
Virtual programs make sustained literature and discussion accessible to older adults and adults with disabilities.
Puerto Rican Association for Human Development (PRAHD)
Recurring Gente y Cuentos programs invite Spanish-speaking participants to connect literature with memory and lived experience.
Reading Senior Center
Reading Senior Center is located in Trenton, New Jersey. Its programs bring older adults together through stories and guided discussion.
Rider University
An introductory program invited Spanish-speaking students to experience the Gente y Cuentos approach.
Sam Naples Senior Center
Recurring programs invite older adults to discover short stories, exchange interpretations, and build community.
Summit Free Public Library
Public programs and a Try It session explore literature through themes of home, community, and civic life.
The Father Center
People & Stories programs provide men in transition with a respectful setting for reading, reflection, writing, and discussion.
William Trent House Museum
Gente y Cuentos programs connect Spanish-speaking adults with literature, history, community, and one another.
Pennsylvania
Interim House
Literature, discussion, and writing offer women in recovery another way to reflect, connect, and honor their own stories.
KleinLife
KleinLife joins People & Stories as a new partner serving older adults through shared reading and guided discussion.
Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center
Multiweek programs serve young people, primarily young women, whose lives include homelessness, placement, or significant transition.
Libertae
People & Stories offers a sustained literature and discussion experience for women in residential treatment and recovery.
Milagro House
Programs welcome women and young mothers experiencing homelessness or transition into a thoughtful community of readers.
Wesley Enhanced Living at Stapeley
Literature and guided discussion connect adults across ages and experiences within a residential and recovery setting.
Partner activity changes by season. Updated September 2026. Tentative future sites are added after the partnership is confirmed.
Recent Voices and Outcomes
What partnership makes possible
Photos, participant reflections, and a documented long-term outcome show how the program takes root in very different community settings.
Program Highlight · Spring 2026
Greenwood Elementary School
In this Spanish-language eight-week pilot, newly arrived parents gathered after school while childcare was provided. Participants read and discussed short stories together, building confidence and connection through literature.
A Lasting Outcome
FCI Fairton
A former participant returned to report that he had rediscovered his love of literature, joined a storytelling class, and become a tutor in the prison's GED program.
De-identified outcome from the FCI Fairton coordinator final report (2025)
Participant Voice
The Father Center
"I had nothing like this in school. I didn't know that stories like this existed. This program should be all over the world."
Participant, The Father Center (2026) Watch a Father Center participant storyParticipant Voice
Abrams Residence at Greenwood House
"We need this here. We need it badly."
Participant, Abrams Residence at Greenwood House (2026) Watch the Abrams Residence testimonial
Gente y Cuentos
PRAHD, Perth Amboy
A recurring Spanish-language circle connects literature with memory, lived experience, and community.
Puerto Rican Association for Human Development (2026) Watch the NJ PBS State of the Arts feature
Participant Voice
Libertae
"At first I thought it was weird how this could be relevant to recovery, but then it quickly became my favorite."
Participant, Libertae (2026)A Wider Community
Partners Through the Years
Our work has grown through longstanding relationships with organizations across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and beyond.
- Community Affairs and Resource Center (CARC)
- Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF)
- Lawrence Community Center
- Lawrence Plaza
- MLK Middle School, Trenton
- Princeton University ProCES
- Rescue Mission of Trenton / TEACH Program
- Trenton Free Public Library
- Drexel University College of Medicine and Unitarian Universalist House
- Friends Village
- Manos House
- Free Library of Philadelphia
- The Dennelisse LHCSA
Bring People & Stories to Your Community
Could your organization be our next partner?
We welcome inquiries from libraries, senior and residential communities, social-service organizations, correctional facilities, schools, museums, and other groups seeking a thoughtful, accessible literature program.
