Frequently asked questions
Please click here to view Hear Me Now's frequently asked questions in Spanish.
Hear Me Now FAQs
What is Hear Me Now?
Hear Me Now is a storytelling and listening initiative at the Institute for Human Caring created in partnership with StoryCorps in 2016.
Hear Me Now’s mission is to give patients, loved ones, and Providence caregivers a sacred space to share their stories and make health care more humane. Hear Me Now is open to all caregivers, patients, their loved ones and communities.
What is StoryCorps?
Is an American non-profit organization whose mission is to record, preserve, and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs. StoryCorps grew out of Sound Portraits Productions as a project founded in 2003 by radio producer David Isay.
Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived tens of thousands of interviews and counting. StoryCorps has the largest single collection of personal narratives ever gathered, and millions listen to StoryCorps’ weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition.
What does the Institute for Human Caring do with the stories?
We register the recordings with StoryCorps to be a part of their permanent collection. They also send a copy of the recording to the Library of Congress’ Folklife Center as a part of their collection.
Many edited clips live on the Hear Me Now website. These clips are also used for reflections, social media, newsletters, philanthropy, remembrance, and to relieve caregiver fatigue/burnout.
Will I still own my story?
You will retain ownership rights to your story. The Institute for Human Caring will only own the recording and any edited version of your story.
Will my story be public?
You can choose to make your story public or private. If you choose public, you will have a couple of options on how public you want your recording. We can make it available for anyone to listen or just available to listen as part of the StoryCorps community.
If you choose private, we will make the story private on our end and send you a link of the full recording for you to hear. The only people able to hear the story will be you and anyone you share the link to the story.
What if I change my mind later about having the story be public?
If you agree to have your story public, but later change your mind, we will always honor your wishes and make your story private. If the story has been public, we can only make it private on our end and restrict its availability on StoryCorps, but we will NOT be able to remove it entirely from the internet.
How can I listen to my recording?
We will send you a link to your story on StoryCorps. Or you can go to StoryCorps and type in your name and find your recording. We will also send a Dropbox link for you to download your recording.
Do I have to use my real name?
No. If you want to share your story anonymously you can. You will need to sign the paperwork with the name you choose to use for the recording.
Why do you edit them down?
When people share their stories, they sometimes take a winding road to get to the core of the story they want to tell, so we edit down tell your story in a concise way. We will always honor your story and will not alter it to make it something it is not.
What if I don’t want my story edited?
Just let us know and we will not edit your story.
How long will the recording take?
The recordings last about 40 minutes +/-