Welcome Project

“If we don’t put the work in to help them pursue their vision, what’s going to happen next? That’ll be another person that we’ll lose to the streets.” ~ a Welcome Project story ~ Find more at welcomeproject.valpo.edu or subscribe to our podcast – just search for "Welcome Project"

“I don’t like being around one culture… How else are you going to learn?” ~ a Welcome Project story ~ find more at welcomeproject.valpo.edu or subscribe to our podcast through Stitcher or Apple Podcasts

“Now we have a voice, we can talk, and we can say it, loud and clear.” Part four of Spirit of Challenge. ~ a Welcome Project story ~ Find more stories at welcomeproject.valpo.edu

“I trust you. Just do what you learned.” Part 3 of Spirit of Challenge ~ a Welcome Project story ~ Find more stories at welcomeproject.valpo.edu or subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

“Oh my God, what trouble did I put myself in?” Part 2 of Spirit of Challenge ~ a Welcome Project story ~ find more at welcomeproject.valpo.edu or subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcast or Stitcher

Part 1 of Spirit of Challenge “My voice was so little, nobody heard it. I started screaming.” ~ a Welcome Project story ~ Find more at welcomeproject.valpo.edu or subscribe to us at Apple Podcasts or Stitcher

“You were proud you were part of the organization that was part of your city.” ~ a Welcome Project story ~ find more at welcomeproject.valpo.edu or subscribe to our podcast on Stitcher or Apple Podcasts

“As adults, we’ve forgotten what we came from or where we came from.” ~ a Welcome Project story ~ Find more stories at welcomeproject.valpo.edu or subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcast or Stitcher.

“You want to know you have a place where your kids can come.” ~ a Welcome Project story ~ This story is from the Invisible Project, a collaboration between the Welcome Project and Porter County Coalition for Affordable Housing, Housing Opportunities, Gabriel’s Horn, Dayspring Women’s Center, and Porter County Museum. Find more from this collection at: https://welcomeproject.valpo.edu/category/invi...

"... we were in school together, but we were separated." ~a Welcome Project story~ Find more stories at welcomeproject.valpo.edu or subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

"You’ll hear, 'They just didn’t work hard enough.'" For more stories, go to welcomeproject.valpo.edu

"Until you change inside, all the laws you can pass ain’t gonna do a bit of good." Produced by Emmanuel Higgins. Thanks to Mr. Allison for sharing his story.

“When he found out we were from Aetna, he never spoke to us again.”

"...people bought into this notion that no one wants to live in Gary..." This is a Welcome Project story from our Flight Paths initiative. Find more at welcomeproject.valpo.edu

"That period of time—growing up in Gary, Indiana, I would not want to be anywhere else in the world."

Produced by Rebecca Werner with interviews recorded by StoryCorps (www.storycorps.org), a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Storytellers in Veiled Racism are volunteers with Gary's Miller Spotlight Project (http://millerspotlight.blogspot.com/), which was the first co...

Produced by Rebecca Werner with interviews recorded by StoryCorps (www.storycorps.org), a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Storytellers in Veiled Racism are volunteers with Gary's Miller Spotlight Project (http://millerspotlight.blogspot.com/), which was the first co...

“Their own coverage began to contribute to what was going on in Gary.” This story is part of our Welcome Project Flight Paths initiative. Find more at welcomeproject.valpo.edu

"...it is actually possible for something so wrong to go on with everybody just assuming it’s normal."

“If you’ve never been in that situation, it’s hard to understand what it’s like.” In Stepping Stones (part three of "We Beat Statistics"), the storyteller identifies concrete support systems she needed to get fully back on her feet after being homeless.

“Sometimes he eats; you don’t eat. That’s just the way it is.”

“She loved us, but she didn’t love herself enough to take care of us the right way.” This storyteller lost her mom, got custody of her brother, ended up pregnant and homeless.

"I think that a lot of the affluent white people here, if you really got inside their heads, they’d just prefer it to be lily-white."

Gary resident reflects on changes to Gary and Gary's neighborhood Miller Beach.

Storyteller describes growing up in Chicago and the culture shock of transitioning into a private school when his parents intervene out of concern for his success as a student.