Last Updated on 29th December 2023 by Caroline Haye
Taking peer support to a new level
When life pulls the rug out from under you, as it sometimes does, what do you do? Do you bottle it up or do you look for help? Bottling it up isn’t a great option, as you will know if you’ve ever tried it. But what other choices do you have? Of course, some circumstances call for professional or spiritual advice. And you may decide to tackle others with a good old heart-to-heart with your best friend. But, useful as these options may be, they don’t always get to the heart of a problem. Sometimes, the best therapy is to be found in helping each other through our stories or shared experience.
I spent most of my life alone with my vitiligo – very alone. From infancy to middle age I never knowingly met another person who had the condition. And I never spoke to another living soul about it in all those years, except for my doctor, my mother and my husband. In fact, the sense of isolation, bewilderment and alienation I experienced throughout that time was as real a symptom as the pigment loss itself. If I could have talked to someone else who had the same condition, it would have made all the difference in the world… Maybe for them, as well as for me.
Sympathy and sincere intentions are not always enough
Feeling out on a limb and in need of support is something that can happen to anyone at any time. Naturally, your nearest and dearest will always offer a sympathetic ear and have your best interests at heart. But sympathy and sincere intentions are not always enough. Sometimes you need to connect with others who have actually been where you are. The trouble is that, unless your next door neighbour just happens to be going through the exact same life experience as you (and is willing to discuss it), where do you turn?
An interview with StoriBoard’s founder Karen Harris
Fortunately, a small team of dedicated individuals, led by serial entrepreneur and successful businessperson Karen Harris, have been working on an innovative solution to this very problem.
Having achieved success in her other ventures, Karen decided to turn her hand to something she truly cared about that she knew would help others. And what she came up with was a free peer support app called StoriBoard, which will be launching this summer.
So, what is StoriBoard? How can it help you? And how might you use it to help others? Read on to find out…
TheVitPro: What exactly is StoriBoard?
Karen: In a nutshell, StoriBoard is a free peer support app where Lived Experience meets helping others. By that, I mean that it is driven by the kinds of shared experiences that unite us as human beings. The name of the app reflects our belief in the value of shared experience. And our aspiration is for it to be a place for those stories to come together for the benefit of others.
The app is built around three core pillars:
- Featured Talks, which are short six-minute-or-less filmed talks that tell a personal story of lived experience;
- Live Meetings, podcast-style audio panel discussions and expertise in a live setting and with an unlimited audience, and
- Groups, which are the hub for communities of people going through similar experiences.
Everything is organised under six Core Categories: Health, Wellbeing, Grief, Parenting, Relationships and Work, and each of these will contain subcategories that specify personal life experiences. (For example: Health – Infertility – IVF treatment).
TheVitPro: Will 6 categories allow for any kind of story (e.g. vitiligo)?
Karen: Absolutely. It may seem audacious to claim to have covered life experience under so few headings, but our six wide-ranging categories aim to do just that. Within these six groupings, users can find anything they’re looking for. More importantly, though, through the subcategories users can find a specific community that knows what they’re going through. And if it doesn’t exist? They can create one.
There will also be links to fundraising and informational resources within the app. And we’re planning to introduce a speaker booking platform too, as our emphasis on storytelling and spoken content could provide users with opportunities for connecting and sharing beyond the borders of StoriBoard.
TheVitPro: What kinds of users do you expect StoriBoard to attract?
Karen: The fact is that everyone has a story to tell. And at some point in everyone’s life it’s going to be helpful to hear someone else tell theirs. Whether it’s something as serious as grieving a loved one or searching for unbiased career advice, StoriBoard is designed to showcase authentic lived experience, which is something everybody understands. So we predict the app will be used by anybody and everybody, from any background or walk of life.
TheVitPro: How will StoriBoard differ from other online resources?
Karen: StoriBoard is a social network for life experience, not for status. So it’s not about image or trivialities. Quite the opposite, in fact. It’s about sharing real stories and building supportive communities of like-minded people through real-life experience. And this is how we aim to bring the disparate bits of peer support that currently exist on different platforms into one easily accessible, purpose-built space.
Not only that, but StoriBoard is designed for communication to be intentional, for people to share their authentic stories with others and to see themselves in other people. So, it’s really a meeting point between a social network and peer support… A place where you can tap into that unique value in hearing someone who’s been there tell you about their experience, and connecting with others like you.
TheVitPro: How will you ensure a safe and supportive environment for users?
Karen: Whilst StoriBoard is a place to connect, we have designed the app with safeguarding at its heart. We don’t sell or share data and users will need to be 13 years old and upwards. Importantly, when you first download the app you must register, and we verify your details to ensure you are a real person. So, there is no anonymity, only authenticity. And there are no chat rooms, where discussions can go dark.
Featured Talks filmed in the app will require approval before going live, with trained psychologists being part of this process. And content producers will have the reassurance of knowing that they own their content and can remove it at any time if they wish.
After all, StoriBoard is fundamentally about sharing, so we have designed it in such a way that people can share their stories and connect with one another in a safer, more genuine way.
TheVitPro: What is your ultimate goal for StoriBoard?
Karen: Through the app, we aim to shine a light on how incredible people truly are. Whilst we all struggle at times in our lives, StoriBoard will showcase our resilience, our strength and our ability to help each other for a better world. Human beings are amazing and we want to help to highlight this truth. We are now in the age of authenticity, of being real. We believe it is the right time for more of us to tell our story to help others.
If you would like to contact StoriBoard, please contact help@storiboard.co.uk
How I think StoriBoard will help the vitiligo community
Thanks to modern technology, there is a whole world of vitiligo information available now to anyone with the time and patience to wade through it. But finding what you are looking for online can be a hit and miss affair… To say nothing of trying to separate fact from fiction.
Of course, mainstream vitiligo charities and blogs already present all kinds of helpful news and advice. Reputable websites devoted to health and medical research can tell you almost anything factual on the subject. And, when it comes to mutual support, there are a number of wonderful vitiligo forums and groups on various platforms. There are also several online vitiligo communities that combine reliable information with the opportunity for mutual support. But the trouble is that all these resources are fragmented and scattered across the internet.
What I think the StoriBoard model offers, that goes beyond current online offerings, is better-organised and more comprehensive resources all on one app. Having Featured Talks, Live Meetings and Groups (all arranged around six categories and with an infinite number of possible sub-categories) promises greater convenience and flexibility of communication. And the very fact that topics will not be limited to vitiligo opens up avenues for users to share other life experiences too. After all, we are more than just our skin.
Visit StoriBoard’s website www.storiboard.co.uk to sign up for the app
