Can We Talk…Program Stakeholder Event

An Evening of Storytelling, Healing, and Community Connection
We’re excited to invite you to a powerful gathering of community leaders, partners, and stakeholders to support the local launch of Can We Talk…®, a trauma-informed community sharing model that fosters healing through storytelling, connection, and collective care.

This will be a soft launch just for stakeholders so you can get to know the model and experience it firsthand. We hope that after participating in the stakeholder event in October, you’ll share the program widely with your networks and identify community members who might benefit from it. (We will also have a flyer for you to share.) The first public session will be held on Tuesday, November 18, and monthly sessions will continue on the third Tuesday through March, with hopes to extend if there’s interest.

As a thank you for joining us, we will provide a gift card to stakeholders who join us to pass along to a resident for a future session to help remove small barriers that might keep someone from attending.

About Can We Talk…®
Can We Talk…® is a spiritually inspired, community-based, artistically infused, and clinically supported program that offers a safe and sacred space for the sharing of painful stories. It increases awareness and understanding of trauma, provides relief from traumatic stress, and delivers mental health supports in a way that is accessible, compassionate, and deeply human.

Originally founded in 2014 by the Roxbury Presbyterian Church’s Social Impact Center, the program grew from the Cory Johnson Program for Post-Traumatic Healing, named in memory of a young community member lost to violence. Since then, it has welcomed over 10,000 participants, offering a space where people from all backgrounds can listen, speak, and heal—without judgment, registration, or labels.

What to Expect: How We Heal Together
At the heart of Can We Talk…® is peer support and community companionship, where trauma survivors and trusted community members walk alongside one another and become the front line of care. This approach integrates mental health and spiritual support, reducing stigma and offering a powerful complement to traditional treatment.

Each session starts with a shared meal, followed by a brief artistic expression (such as drumming, a song, or a poem) to help set the tone. After that, the space opens for anyone who wants to share their own stories, what’s on their mind, what they are struggling with. The experience is about listening deeply, honoring one another’s truth, and creating a safe and healing space together.

By naming the pain together, we create space for meaning, connection, and hope.

Hosted by Granite Theatre, Wood River Health, and Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds