DocsStories
What is a story?
A story is a community member's account of their experience, shared with consent and supported by described media.
What is it?
A story is a community member's account of their experience. Each story records the person, a title, and the content of what they shared. Stories can include media, such as a photo, audio, a video, or text.
Two things make a story safe and accessible:
- Consent. A story is only published when the person has agreed. The record holds a consent flag.
- Descriptions. Each piece of media carries a caption and alt text, so people using screen readers understand what the media shows or plays.
Stories can carry outcome tags, so you can group them by what happened, such as "Housing secured" or "Employment found".
When do you use it?
You use stories when you want to share the real experiences of your community. You use them to:
- Celebrate what community members have achieved.
- Show funders and leaders what your work means.
- Give others hope through shared experience.
- Build a library of outcomes you can point to.
Example
Wiremu found a home after a long search. He agrees to share his journey. Aroha records the story, adds a photo of Wiremu at his new door, and writes alt text that describes the photo. Wiremu grants consent and Aroha publishes the story with an outcome tag of "Housing secured". The community reads it and Wiremu's whanau feel proud.