Building Power is Building Together: FV@W Launches Caring Out Loud Fellowship

“We are not divided, we are disconnected.” These powerful words from Rev. Pastor Bland Jr. capture a critical challenge facing communities today. But this challenge points us towards a solution, and that solution is already underway.

Last month, our Culture Change team kicked off something extraordinary in Durham, North Carolina: the Caring Out Loud Fellowship officially launched with three full-time fellows, Tyla Barnes, Brittany Hamm, and Gerald “Von” Nesmith, in partnership with We Are Down Home NC. The fellowship is an innovative pilot program designed to explore what happens when we invest in the power of narrative, the wisdom of community, and the radical act of caring out loud.

A Space Built for This Moment

The kickoff took place at the People’s Solidarity Hub, a space founded on the principle that “to grow our movements throughout the South, there is a pressing need for physical spaces that fuel and strengthen our movements.” And on day one, our team witnessed exactly why this work is so important.

When ICE had arrived in Durham and the broader Raleigh area, the Hub opened its doors for rapid response efforts. This moment highlighted the full spectrum of community work. While the fellowship team built long-term narrative power to shift culture, organizers next door mobilized immediate action to protect their neighbors: two essential forms of resistance under one roof.

“It was a terrific place to ground us in the work,” says Laura Collins, FVAW’s Culture Strategies Manager. Staying grounded will be a constant in everything that comes next.

The Work That Changes Everything

Over the next 12 months, these three fellows will be on the ground, listening first and acting with purpose. Their work will include:

• Deep Community Listening: Gaining a true understanding of the challenges North Carolina families and communities are facing, exploring their dreams, and identifying where connections can be strengthened.
• Narrative Research & Analysis: Identifying the dominant narratives about children, families, and care that prevent North Carolinians from thriving.
• Designing Narrative Interventions: Crafting and implementing creative, community-led interventions, like storytelling events, podcasts, short plays, video series, craftivism events, art projects, and more to bring diverse groups together.
• Wellness as a Responsive Tactic: Forming regular community wellness events that prioritize mental health, self-care, and joyful community experiences, serving as a powerful antidote to burnout, overwhelm, and disconnection.

Throughout the launch week, fellows were equipped with Down Home NC’s organizational strategy and Family Values at Work’s narrative change theory. Everyone received a copy of Liberation Stories, a collection of case studies from historical movements and a tool that will guide them as they construct the world we all envision.

The Promise Ahead

The results of this program will be captured in a case study that organizations across the country can learn from and adapt. This isn’t just a story from North Carolina: it’s a roadmap for narrative change work everywhere. Also in 2026, the fellows will co-lead a Narrative Change Working Group with seven of our Network organizations, creating a community of practice where peers can share strategies, troubleshoot challenges, and learn from each other’s work in real time.

The Caring Out Loud Fellowship aims to build bridges across divides, strengthen shared responsibility, and amplify the values of care and connection in local communities. Because the only thing better than building power is building it together.

What makes this pilot so hopeful isn’t just what the fellows will accomplish, it’s what we’ll all learn. How do we shift the narratives that keep us disconnected? What creative interventions actually work to bring people together? How do we sustain this work without burning out?

The answers are being written right now, in North Carolina, by three fellows and the communities they serve. Because the only thing better than building power is building it together.