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Scribing Their Way: The Power of Words Walking into the residential care facility, I was hit with a flood of emotions. It reminded me of the Park Forest Care Center where my father spent the last years of his life. Even though I hadn’t been to the Park Forest since Dad died in 2017, but now I felt like I’d never left. Inside this new place, I found utilitarian but cheerful seating for guests, the expected holiday decorations on the windows and walls. It was February so red hearts and roses dominated. The same types of care givers and technicians pushing carts of medications down the hallways. But this wasn’t the Park Forest, and my father is gone. I took a deep breath. In common area several tables were pushed together to create a big square. Around the edges sat several people, many of them in wheelchairs. Each person had a pen and a notebook in front of them, waiting for their first Write Around Portland workshop, and I was there to scribe. When I moved to Portland in January, 2022 I began volunteering with Write Around Portland. The organization’s mission is to “change lives through the power of writing.” During my years as a middle school teacher, I’d seen how writing workshops empowered students. I knew how writing enriched my own life. Write Around Portland seemed like it would be a good fit for me. Plus, I’d get to meet some new people in my new town. Until this Spring my volunteer work mostly involved office tasks like putting labels on postcards. But I was excited to work on the anthology they put out after each round of workshops. Reading the poems and stories of people who “aren’t writers” made me want to get involved more deeply. I wasn’t ready to be a workshop facilitator yet (too much like teaching!) but I did jump at the chance to be a scribe. At the care facility, many of the people who wanted to participate have difficulties with the physical act of putting pen to paper. That’s where the scribe comes in, listening to their stories and recording their words.
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