Volunteer Facilitator Spotlight: “Writing is about giving life…”

4 days ago

For our March spotlight, we are pleased to introduce you to Mya Moniz and Peta-Gaye Nash. Together, Mya and Peta-Gaye facilitate on-site workshops for writers at the Hazel McCallion Central Library in Mississauga. They are also featured panelists for our upcoming Why We Write: Peel event.

DESCRIBE YOUR JOURNEY AS A WCC FACILITATOR – HOW DID YOU FIND US, AND WHEN DID YOU BECOME A FACILITATOR?

MYA: A former university professor of mine put me in touch with the WCC while I was working for a different nonprofit organization. I had designed an arts-based storytelling program for Black youth recovering from homelessness, and we felt the WCC’s framework could be an excellent addition to our existing structure as another way to help idea generation. Two of my colleagues on my program were trained as WCC facilitators while I opted to participate as a writer alongside the youth.

I left my position at the nonprofit in July 2024, and the WCC invited me to join them as a facilitator in September of the same year!

PETA-GAYE: Someone told me about WCC about five years ago, when it was called Toronto Writers Collective. I printed the application and filled it out, but I never sent it. Maybe too many things were going on at the time, including COVID, but I believe in many cases, events happen at the right time.

I ran into WCC facilitator Steve Elliot – now Peel Chapter Lead – I had met at Toastmasters many years ago and I had seen his posts on LinkedIn. This time, I was ready – ready to learn more about WCC, ready to commit more of my time to writing, and ready to volunteer. I am a new facilitator, recently trained in January 2025.

WHAT BRINGS YOU TO VOLUNTEERING? HOW DOES FACILITATING WORKSHOPS IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES ALIGN WITH YOUR OBJECTIVES AS A VOLUNTEER?

MYA: I’ve been a community worker for over three years now, so I was excited at the prospect of staying connected to the grassroots while I prepare to begin graduate studies this fall. Facilitating at the Hazel McCallion Public Library in Mississauga has been an exciting, engaging way to keep my skills in practice, meet people, and challenge myself!

Volunteering with the WCC just brings me one step closer to the world I want to see!

PETA-GAYE: Volunteering is important for community. Volunteering and doing something you love, and absolutely believe in, is enriching for the soul and important for growth in all areas. The strange thing is that volunteering in this short time has already improved my listening skills, my focus, my confidence with technology, and my confidence in my leadership skills.

It has also made me feel more positive about life in general. Maybe it’s focusing on what is positive and strong about the writing – giving that positive feedback and seeing the joy on participants’ faces and getting back that positive feedback. We all leave the room feeling inspired and empowered.

Facilitating these workshops align with my personal beliefs that everyone has a story, everyone’s voice is important and, most of all, everyone has talents but sometimes these talents are not recognized or acknowledged. When a piece of writing is confirmed as beautiful, meaningful or brilliant, maybe that’s the first time a participant has ever heard those words. It may be the beginning of something great: personal healing, growth, empowerment, and can lead to publication.

WHAT DO YOU EXPERIENCE IN AN ON-SITE WCC WORKSHOP, WHEN YOU WRITE IN COMMUNITY AT THE LIBRARY?

MYA: I feel more easily and significantly connected with writers on-site. I think we’re all very grounded and immersed in the stories we’re writing for each other and ourselves.

I’m likely to see a lot of new writers. Thanks to the library’s program system and the fact that we’re in a public place, we get a lot of passing foot traffic—people who are hoping to try something new. Writers are also very willing to chat and get to know each other on-site, which is wonderful to see.

An aspect of on-site workshops that I had really taken for granted is the fun that comes with immediate reactions. One piece from a recent workshop I facilitated had such a sweet ending that the entire table erupted in a giant collective AWHHHHH!! that had us all laughing and the reader feeling very, very excited.

The “oohs” and “ahhs” and “hmms” that people naturally mutter as part of language usually get lost behind a muted microphone online. While our online workshops absolutely have their own kind of charm—an online workshop I facilitate has replaced audible reactions with in-camera-view claps, for instance—it’s hard to replace all the micro interactions that happen when we’re face to face. It’s easier to joke with each other, offer immediate support, and stay in the moment.

PETA-GAYE: When I write in community at the library, it is a great experience for me. First of all, there is a sense of peace and purpose. All heads are down, hands jotting or typing. There is focus. There is a sense that we are all creating together. Those two hours may be the only writing I do all week.

Second, sometimes we are all surprised by what comes out of the prompt. I thought I would be working on my fictional short stories, but I was surprised to find myself writing a love letter to my daughter, or how important the concept of freedom is to me. These unexpected spurts of inspiration are healing in ways I couldn’t have imagined.

TELL US ABOUT ONE OF WCC’S SIX ESSENTIAL PRACTICES AND HOW YOU SEE IT COME TO LIFE IN YOUR WORKSHOPS.

MYA: I’m inclined to talk about practice one and two together because they’re very hand-in-hand for me.

You don’t have to read what you write, though we encourage you to do so.

If you read, we will only talk about what’s strong in your writing, what “stays with us”, or what we remember.

Since I’ve been able to connect with a lot of new WCC writers, I’ve heard many variants of the phrase, “I don’t think I’ve got anything good, here.” Sometimes it takes a bit of extra encouragement, and sometimes newer writers don’t budge (as is always their right!), but whenever someone takes that leap of courage and shares their work, the switch is instant.

The positive feedback the writer receives from their fellow participants is often so deep, profound, and specific that it completely changes the writer’s opinion about their own work—so much so that their favourite line at the end of the workshop often calls back to something specific from the feedback they received.

I firmly believe that everyone who attends a WCC workshop will take something good away from it, even if they don’t yet have the courage to share their work. However, it’s amazing to see how people grow from timid to excited to be a part of things!

PETA-GAYE: One of the Six Essential Practices is: WCC stresses the importance of deep listening. Listening is as important as writing in our workshops. This practice has been the most challenging and important for me. So many times we think we are listening to others, but really we are thinking how to respond. So many times during meetings and other interactions, our minds wander.

This practice means that one has to listen carefully to be able to articulate positive and meaningful feedback. Deep listening is almost like meditation – putting aside for a time other thoughts, worries and concerns and focusing completely on someone else’s words. I am learning from other participants how to give better feedback, and my focus and listening are improving.

WHAT IMPACT HAVE YOU WITNESSED THROUGH FACILITATING A BRAVE SPACE, WHERE PARTICIPANTS CAN DISCOVER AND EXPRESS THEIR AUTHENTIC SELVES? WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FACILITATING WORKSHOPS IN A FREE, LOW-BARRIER SPACE SUCH AS THE LIBRARY?

MYA: I’m very passionate about grassroots writing and changing the way we define knowledge as a society. I think everyone has something valuable to share, but far too often people just aren’t willing to listen. I find writing and creativity to be very effective tools to engage 1) people who know what they want to say but aren’t sure how, 2) people who aren’t sure what to say but know they want to try, and 3) people who have been told that they shouldn’t say anything at all.

I’ve heard a lot of people say “I’m not a writer,” and I always tell them that’s not true. Writing isn’t always about flowery language and pretty metaphors (read: I still love that stuff). Writing is about giving life to the ideas and memories we never want to forget.

When we bring creativity, skill and craft development, and, most importantly, healing to the public, we’re taking the power back from people who think they can and should control who we are, what we think is important, and how we take action. Proper, lasting change can happen when we democratize resources such as knowledge, creativity, and therapeutic tools.

PETA-GAYE: In our volunteer facilitator training, we learned that WCC workshops are magical in how they can transform lives.

During a workshop at the library, a shy young man came in. He barely looked up and didn’t share his first reading. He was from the BIPOC community. After I read my piece about the experience of being bullied in America’s south during the 80’s, bullied for my colour, name, accent and “nerdiness” (I was expected to excel in school), it gave him permission to share his next piece. When the participants gave him feedback, he looked up, smiled and there was that magical connection.

It IS a magical thing when someone’s voice is validated, heard, appreciated. By partnering with WCC to deliver on-site workshops, libraries will remain necessary in the future. We live in a time when so much of our lives are online. We need this personal connection.

WHY DO YOU WRITE? TELL US ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO WRITING!

MYA: For about as long as I can remember, I’ve been able to get to know myself best on the page.

I have found a lot of solace in my life through writing, and it has always been the best medium for me to deal with the cards that life dealt me. By exploring my lived experiences in a controlled setting (like trying to tell a story), I can ask myself questions, think through alternative and additional perspectives, and find healing throughout the process.

PETA-GAYE: I write because I have to, I need to, I want to! I’ve been journalling for years. Even as a child I journaled and stopped because my mother read them. I expressed my feelings freely. I started again in my twenties and I’ve found writing helps me to be empathetic to others, more self-aware, reflective of my choices and who I am.

Looking back at older writing helps me to realize how far I’ve come. Writing poetry and stories about Caribbean people and their interactions with other cultures is affirming. As a child, I grew up only reading British and American literature. Nowadays, seeing my culture in other stories and writing them myself is empowering for me. I’m saying, “my culture matters, all of it, all we’ve been through as a people – slavery, colonization, racism and classism within my culture, the colourful way we interact with each other, the passion in our speech, the searing beauty of the landscape, all of it.”

Sometimes a story stays within me for days, even months and then suddenly, the day comes when I can’t take it anymore – I may be busy with work or doing other things, but the anxious feeling to get the story onto the page is overpowering. It’s a great release when this finally happens. It’s a feeling I can’t describe. My soul feels expansive.

Thank you, Mya and Peta-Gaye, for your inspiring work as dedicated WCC facilitators and community builders.