stories that connect: exploring technology’s role in sharing family journeys

At Mary's Place, we're always excited to explore new ways to share the powerful stories of the families we're honored to serve. Recently, we had an exciting opportunity to team up with Alson.AI on an AI-enhanced storytelling project to discover how this emerging technology might help amplify our mission. Together, we brought to life Sara's story—a brave mom living in her car with her two young children while searching for a safe place to call home. The experience opened our eyes to some amazing possibilities with this new technology.

Our collaboration started with a simple outline from Sara about her experience. From there, our team partnered closely with Alson.AI to flesh out the narrative, making sure every detail was authentic, and celebrated and honored Sara's journey. The platform gave us the tools to hone in on character details and story elements that touch the heart and center Sara’s resilience - transforming Sara’s story from a simple outline to a moving piece that fully captures not only the facts, but the emotions, of her lived experience.

Alson.AI created beautiful, colorful cartoon-style illustrations that brought Sara’s story to life in such a warm, welcoming way. The friendly cartoon approach helped make Sara's challenging situation more accessible to readers while still respecting the gravity and importance of her experience.

What really stood out was seeing how AI could transform a simple input into something that more accurately described what Sara was feeling. Recounting an experience with homelessness and accessing those emotions can be challenging, and even traumatizing, for families. With the help of Alson.AI, the heart of Sara’s story didn’t change, but the narrative it helped craft allowed readers to feel a deeper connection to Sara's experience. Tools like Alson.AI can help families share their stories of resilience and strength, while reducing the emotional tole.

This technology holds exciting potential for helping nonprofits share stories in more powerful ways. Alson.AI Founder & CEO, Nafisa Muzaffar, shared: "For us, as a startup, being part of this project was not just deeply meaningful, it's part of why we exist: to tell the untold stories, the ones that eventually shape our cultures and reshape our society.”

Organizations interested in exploring similar exciting possibilities can connect with the wonderful team at Alson.AI at social@alson.ai.