Written by Grace Yaconelli
Garrison offers a kind and gentle attention. As I sit across from him at the Family Nurturing Center in Medford, Oregon, he speaks with an inviting honesty, navigating subjects that range from joy to tragedy with humility. He is a natural storyteller and has spent many years traveling across the country to share his own testimony of recovery and reconciliation with his family. Now, at the Family Nurturing Center, this relational storytelling is crucial in his work with struggling families. As stated on the FNC website, the core goal of the FNC is “to prevent child maltreatment, break generational patterns of abuse and neglect, reduce the impact of childhood trauma, and support the development of stable, strong families who are able to keep their children safe and thriving at home.” This is primarily achieved through FNC employees creating trusting connections with families to help them get the support they need to reach their aspirations for safety and stability.
Garrison is in the role of helping parents and families who are trying to regain custody rights after being released from prison or completing an addiction recovery program. Often Garrison is working with parents as they are navigating the worst period of their lives. Serving as a parent mentor, Garrison recognizes the value and necessity of being a trusted person. He has found that through his own lived path, he’s able to offer his story as a roadmap and encouragement to others. He tells me, “I can provide hope through storytelling by letting someone know, ‘I’ve been where you’re at, here’s what I did to get through that and here are the results from walking that road.’ My story invites trust and hopefully offers guidance for other dads who want to heal and reconnect with their families.” I understand why these men trust Garrison. He is open about his suffering and struggles in a way that disarms the listener. He feels safe, trustworthy. For Garrison, relationship is the key to helping others find healing. This commitment to relationship is at the center of every arena of his life. He states, “Whether it’s family, community, professional, whatever, I’ve always been a firm believer that the heart of life is relationship.”
Garrison participated in The Hearth’s Community Storytelling Training in 2023 at the prompting of his boss. At first he was hesitant, he was already a veteran storyteller who shared his testimony to recovery groups across the country, would the training have anything to offer him? He looked up The Hearth online and saw the program would be held on the Columbia Gorge. “I decided, what the heck? It might be nice to get to be in such a beautiful place.” After the first day of the training, he was shocked at the impact. Not only did he feel a deep affirmation in his calling to work with people, but he felt a depth in personal storytelling and the power of story to foster transformative connections. Garrison reflected, “That was probably the biggest piece that I took away from the week-long training–the power of connection and how it can bring people together even when, you know, circumstances or social background can be so vastly different. Hearing another person’s story can really break down the social or emotional barriers we might first put between us.”
There aren’t many spaces in a busy and divided world that allows for listening that connects. Garrison shares, “storytelling really internally helped me move from criticism to curiosity. And there’s a motto we hear all the time, right? ‘It’s not what’s wrong with you, but what happened to you?’ You feel that when you take the time to really hear the life experience of another person.” When talking about The Hearth’s training, he shares, “It really affirmed my own purpose in the world. Leaving there with that palpable sense of connection just reaffirmed and rekindled the flame. And I was not expecting that, like, I left there ready to do big things.”
Through his work at the Family Nurturing Center and his journey with sharing his own recovery story, Garrison continues to do big things! He organizes community events based around families sharing their stories, he continues working hard in reuniting parents with their children, and he exemplifies the power of creating safe, non-judgemental spaces for those around him. Through such valuable work, the world grows even more connected, understood, and like Garrison himself, kind.
