New California-Based Web Project Allows Disabled & Others to Upload & Share Stories with Public, Media, and Politicians: First-of-Its-Kind Website Launched — MyCAStory.org

    OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 21 /EMWNews/ -- On-line, everyone

can hear you. A new project called My California Story (MyCAStory.org) is

helping Californians that will be hurt by the current California budget

crisis tell their stories online so that others can share their challenges.

Inspired by everything from YouTube to an old-fashioned soap box, the

website serves as a place where the voices of all Californians are heard.



    The MyCAStory.org site is a first of its kind in California and is part

of the new wave of citizen journalism, utilizing new technologies such as

Flip Video cameras, to tell powerful and deeply personal stories of how

lives are being turned upside down by California's budget mess. These

easy-to-use Flip Video cameras allow disenfranchised people from across

California, who are constrained due to illness or mobility, to share their

stories via the Internet.



    "Everyone deserves a chance to be heard," said Anthony Wright of Health

Access California, a consumer group that is participating in the website.

"We were inspired by the thousands of Californians looking to weigh in and

share their deeply personal stories. We are thrilled that this website, of

the people, by the people, and for the people, sits squarely at the

intersection of easy-to-use technology and citizen engagement in politics."



    MyCAStory.org gives everyone the opportunity to upload videos, add

pictures, and write their own story. Once a story is added to the site,

visitors can search the site by category or city, and then share the

stories with other people. MyCAStory has the goal of becoming one of the

largest video blogs, built upon the idea that there are thousands of voices

going unheard -- those are the voices of real Californians wrestling with

the impacts of current and proposed budget cuts.



    Reva Guimont of Madera uploaded her story, she explains, "taking care

of my son makes it extremely difficult to go anywhere. Now, I've told my

story, my way, free from politics -- and I expect to be heard."



    Citizen journalism isn't new. California hosts the nationally

distributed Current TV -- a place where people are challenged to find their

own voice and submit news stories for airing. In addition, in a 2007

experiment, residents of Santa Rosa, California were challenged to create

their own nightly newscast when a local station cancelled its nightly

newscast.



    All participants on MyCAStory.org stand ready to share their story

anytime and any place. They know their actions, uploading a story, are just

the first step in forestalling the budget cuts that will cause them deep

personal harm.



    Monica Barraza an Independent Living Advocate from Access to

Independence of San Diego notes, "We know our patients have a hard time

raising their voice, so we wanted to help them. We recorded 10 videos and

uploaded them."



    Currently, the website features nearly 50 stories from the following

communities: Anaheim, Auberry, Chula Vista, Costa Mesa, Fresno, Garden

Grove, Irvine, Los Angeles, La Mirada, Madera, Modesto, Orange, Rocklin,

Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Ana, and Westminster.



    For more information, please visit MyCAStory.org.

    About the Project



    My California Story is the brainchild of a community of

California-based advocates for children and families.



    Our purpose is to share the stories behind the numbers of everyday

Californians struggling to raise families, survive, and succeed despite the

looming threat of budget cuts to the state programs and services on which

they rely. These are the stories behind those numbers.



    Through uploading their stories through video, text, and photos, we

hope that they will let Californians know about their lives -- the

victories and the challenges. These are their stories, told in their own

words.



    We encourage legislators, reporters, and the California public to watch

these videos, to read the stories, and to see the uploaded photos and get

to know the real people who will be hurt by the proposed cuts to

California's budget.



    Key contributors include:



    Heath Access California (http://www.health-access.org/) -- For more

than fifteen years, Health Access has played a significant role in leading

the movement for health care reform in California. Health Access has

promoted universal health care proposals and advocated for specific

incremental reforms that promise to provide immediate health care services

to California's most vulnerable populations.



    California Association of Food Banks (http://www.cafoodbanks.org/) --

The California Association of Food Banks was founded in 1995 to promote

collaboration in response to emerging social, economic and legislative

challenges impacting hungry people throughout California.