​​Everyday Boston connects Bostonians across a highly segregated city through the sharing of life stories. We believe that, to bridge long standing social, racial and economic divides, Bostonians need two things: 1) listening and communication skills and 2) opportunities to connect. Through story-focused programming, we provide both. Our vision is that Boston becomes the most connected city in America.

Everyday Boston began in 2015 as a small multicultural, inter-generational group with a mission to push back against stereotypes by collecting and publishing the stories of our neighbors. Over time, in response to demand, we created a story-based curriculum–for schools, colleges, workplaces, and most recently prisons–to help Bostonians develop the listening and communication skills they need to better understand their neighbors across social, economic and racial divides. More than 1,000 people have participated in our Curiosity and Connection curriculum, from sixth grade students at the Umana Academy in East Boston, to employees downtown at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, to people coming home to the city after decades of serving time inside.

Our core programs are:

• Our Curiosity and Connection training, described above, in which we deliver our curriculum to help strengthen people’s communication skills in schools, workplaces, prisons and re-entry programs, and community organizations;  
• Our Story Collecting program, in which Bostonians connect with neighbors they might not otherwise know through story collecting projects. Over a hundred people have participated in this program, recording the stories of neighbors across the city. These recorded stories are then edited and published in our online Story Library. Plans to redevelop the story library are underway to create a dynamic, searchable database along with discussion guides and curriculum add-ons to use the stories of everyday Bostonians to learn history from those who made it. Over 90% of the stories in our story library are shared by BIPOC individuals. Recent projects have amplified the stories of essential workers and elders during the pandemic; stories of returning citizens on the topic of the cradle-to-prison pipeline; and most recently, the stories of BIPOC community members on medical mistrust. More than 70 stories of Bostonians have been published in our online story library, a resource that is currently being revamped to be more dynamic for educators and others interested in the city’s history.
• Our Story Share events, in which we give Bostonians an opportunity to share their life stories in a group setting. These events have expanded from community gatherings at libraries and online gathering spaces to include “pop up story shops” at neighborhood events, from the Franklin Field Health Fair to Transformational Prison Project’s celebration of success for returning citizens. 
• Storytelling to address Medical Mistrust. For four years, EB has partnered with MA CEAL and Boston Medical Center to build a program that improves health equity and outcomes by training practitioners on working with community members and patients to build trust, humanize the health care experience, and understand healthcare disparities through the sharing of real stories, and connecting with community members. 
• Curious & Connected Education. This is a long-term engagement in middle and high schools to bring EB’s signature Curiosity & Connection workshop into schools for an entire year. This expansion works to create a school-wide cultural shift to promote a sense of belonging among students, educators, and staff, build a social safety net for students by creating bonds with adults in their school and community, and address mental health challenges of young people by building confidence, communication skills, and creating social connections. This program is in development.

While our programming is open to all, we focus on opportunities for young people through our Youth Program, as well as incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people through The Bridge Project, as described below.

• Youth program: we partner with schools and organizations across the city to deliver our Curiosity and Connection curriculum as well as story-collecting opportunities at home, in the classroom, and in the community. We engage young people in activities that broaden their world view, deepen their empathy, and strengthen the communication skills they need to succeed in school, at home, and, eventually, in today’s economy
• The Bridge Project includes communications training in prisons and re-entry programs, followed by story collecting projects in the community. The goal is to strengthen returning citizens’ life skills, sense of self-worth, and feeling of belonging in the city, so they can become active, engaged citizens of Boston and beyond.