Listening Groups

Everyone connected with the Thousand Oaks community experienced both the shooting and fires in a unique way and has a story to tell. In sharing our stories and hearing the stories of our friends and neighbors we may find a healing space, some common ground, a fresh perspective, or at its root a connection to our shared humanity.

There is power in giving voice to our own experiences, and power in sitting across from others as they share their experiences. When stories are shared we see one another with new depth, appreciation, and compassion. Perhaps you are connected to a particular group that could benefit from this listening experience. Groups may include: office staff, professional groups, friends and family members, church or community groups, neighborhoods, school communities, or more.

How community members are responding to listening groups:

"I've never told anyone what I shared today."

"I've known this person for 15 years and never knew how this affected their life. I didn't know that part of their story."

“I forgot what that time felt like for me and my family.”

“I’m glad we talked about this tonight because we haven’t talked about it for a long time. It doesn’t seem like people want to talk about it. We hardly talked about it at school after everything happened, but we all knew what happened.”

“For kids my age (in high school), many of us haven’t talked about November….even though it’s been already a year, it was good for us to talk about. It was hard to talk and listen to the stories. And we got to know each other differently and learned how we each experienced the tragedies and that has created a new bond between us.”

In August 2019 Thousand Oaks Remembers trained over 20 facilitators from across the community with the skills to go out into various groups and facilitate an experience where stories from November 2018 could be shared, honored, and heard. Already groups are beginning to gather for these listening experiences in homes, offices, libraries, churches, community centers, and more. It is the intent of the project to provide this space for as many groups as possible.