We recently connected with Noelle Myers and have shared our conversation below.
Noelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?
So this was a hard choice – to decide which category I fit in… because I don’t fit in any one category – As an author – I own my own business, and as a non-profit founder -we serve people through the medical/personal care field. So most of my answers will be two parts – one as an author, and one as a non-profit founder.
As an author I think my most heartwarming story is whenever someone contacts me like *Sophie did. For most authors, writing a book is a very personal thing. As authors, we put our heart and soul into the book, and little bits of us are scattered all over the pages so to speak.. So when Sophie messaged my author page to tell me that my book and one of my characters in particular really helped her to get through a tough time, it made all the angst and impostor syndrome worth it.
Project Dignity is a different thing all together. Honestly, we don’t have many “happy feeling” stories, or “happy endings”. Our non-profit is more about helping to start a difficult journey to healing on the right path.. Our people meet clients one of if not THE worst day of their lives. One story that really sticks with me though is one I was personally present for. Several children had been rescued in the middle of winter from a human trafficking situation. I had several of them, including one little one I’ll call Johnny, in my car to keep warm. I listen to a lot of K-pop, and one song from my favorite group cycled through on my radio – the song has lyrics about how no matter how hard things are – life will still go on. The group sings in English for parts of it – “like an echo through the forest…like an arrow in the blue sky…life goes on.” Johnny asked to hear the song again, so of course I played it. After a little bit he looks at me and says.. “Hey lady. Is that true? Does life go on? Does it get better? Am I going to be okay? Can I be a normal person someday?” Ooph.. heavy questions from a nine year old. But I was able to tell him that I healed from something very similar to his situation AND here I am helping other people. I saw his first smile when I admitted that I may not ever be “normal, but normal is boring.” Later as he was saying goodbye, He gave me a hug, and said that he loved the blanket, book, and stuffy in his (Dignity bag) bag that I had given all the kids. I found out later that he told one of the police men that it was the first things of his own he could remember having. Johnny, and all the kids rescued that day, have a hard road of healing ahead, but I hope they remember that someone loves them and cared about them in those first moments of rescue.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
For the author part of my life – several people have told me I was born a storyteller, and destined to be a writer. In fact, more than one of my published books began as stories I wrote as a second grader – I have character notes, and little vignettes written in my childhood handwriting and on school papers. I am always proud and happy when I hold the finished book in my hand. Each book is a piece of my heart that I can give to others. I write inspirational historical romance. So far I have twelve books published – the Carter Saga – seven books set in the late 1860’s west of the Rockies. , The Home Fires Trilogy – set on the Home Front during the 1940’s, this trilogy follows three best friends as they navigate the ever changing landscape at home during the war. Currently I have 2 books out in the Brothers in Arms series – a series about the Codey brothers as they each serve their country in the different branches of the Armed Forces during World War II. Book three is almost done, and I am excited about it.
Project Dignity started when I was at a sexual assault support group, and heard another member talking about how horrific it was to spend fifteen hours in the hospital, go through a forensic exam, and then have to give her clothing up as evidence, and walk out of the hospital in a hospital gown, paper socks, and not even be provided with deodorant or a chance to brush her teeth or wash up or anything. She said that treatment stripped away what little of her dignity remained and she felt “less than human”. That was not okay with me, so I set about trying to figure out how to address the issue and Dignity Bags (and subsequently Project Dignity) was born. Project Dignity provides local hospitals (any who will allow us to- we are happy to expand our services!) with Dignity Bags – bags of toiletries and comfort items for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, and violent crime (or anyone who needs them) we also provide clothing – both are usually kept at the ER – in sizes infant to 5x as we have them available. Project Dignity also provides new sets of sheets through law enforcement or Community violence center advocates for those who have been assaulted in their homes and have to give their sheets up as evidence.
I think the thing I am most proud of for Project Dignity is probably the Blue Card program. I have a very strong fear of the police, due to trauma in childhood. I met a very kind officer in our local police force, who, along with my therapists was helping me to not be quite so afraid, and we both decided that something was needed to help people like myself, or those with autism, or other neurological divergences communicate with the police. As we worked together we formulated the Blue Card – a card that lists behaviors that we might exhibit if upset (inability to communicate or move, running, crying, etc) and behaviors that can make that worse (shouting, flashing lights, being touched) or better ( talk softly, tell me your name, ask me to help you) Currently we are trying to get other law enforcement agencies to look at the Blue Card program and get it expanded to other towns, cities, and states.
One thing I would love for people to understand – Sexual violence and human trafficking is everywhere – in your city or town, possibly in your neighborhood, and even possibly people you know. The violence transcends all geder, race, religious, socio-economic, age, and sexual orientation boundaries. Project Dignity is just one organization that seeks to help survivors thrive as they heal from the trauma.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As an author – I think the biggest journey of resilience was me becoming a self published author (also a pivoting moment for me) I wanted to be a nurse all through growing up and in high school.. then I got sick in college, and gradually realized that I could not physically follow that dream anymore. I tried so many things – working different jobs, etc, until I was finally able to be diagnosed with 5 rare genetic diseases. I was then able to get on disability, which has been a good thing. I cannot work a regular job, and my writing, while not a big money maker for me – is absolutely my passion (one of them) and I can work around my health. It took me a couple years to finish my first book, and then a couple more to get accepted by a publisher. I signed a contract with a small publisher, and set about to get my first two books published. Alas, as is the story of many an author, the small publisher had overextended themselves and they breached the contract. I ended up getting my rights back, and figuring out how to publish my own books (Self-publishing is becoming quite the trend in the writing world) The challenge is to make sure you have a high quality product, one that you can be proud of. Once I started down the path of self-publishing though, I never looked back. It has been an amazing ride, and I will keep writing as long as I have stories in my head (so…..forever… ha!)
Project Dignity itself is a story of my resilience. I am a survivor of both sexual assault and human trafficking. My first memories of abuse are at the age of 4, and then 11-12, and 16-26. I was trapped in a cult that only protected the abusers, never helped the abused, and at 26 I left that religious community and found my way to freedom. A lot of healing has happened since then. A lot of hard work and a lot of therapy had to happen before I could start helping others, but here we are. Project Dignity is in its seventh year, and we have helped a lot of people. My personal trauma, and my recovery and healing from it, have given me a unique perspective. I don’t love the term resilient… Some days I wish I could fall apart (and some days I do a little) So many people take resilience to mean always being strong – but it really is okay to not be okay sometimes. Project Dignity has helped me be strong for others, and hopefully helps others to find their own strength, to me that is resilience.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Project Dignity had to do some serious re-evaluation in 2022 – the pandemic absolutely swamped us with clients, and as so many things were shut down, we ended up (we as in me, myself, and I) often going to crime scenes directly to bring clothing, sheets, etc – especially human trafficking scenes. In 2022 there was an incident that forever changed my life, and nearly ended it, at one of those scenes. After that I had to come to the realization that sometimes you have to say no – I cannot help people if I am not functional (due to over work, lack of self care, etc) or worse, if I am no longer here. Untill I stepped away from that aspect of serving survivors, I hadn’t realized the extreme toll it had taken on my mental health. So now, we no longer go to crime scenes, but provide entities that do (and who have better support infrastructure than their two cats at home) with what they need as far as clothing, Dignity Bags, and more. I don’t think that anyone or any business really ever stays static, they are constantly evolving, growing and stretching. Sometimes that pivot is exactly what we need, or other times it may be a temporary, but scenic, detour. My whole life and career(s) have been a series of pivots. Some easier than others, some funny, (PIVOT! PIVOT) some tragic, some frustrating, and some joyous. They have all made me who I am, and helped both myself and Project Dignity, to grow and become better with time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.noellemyers.com www.projectdignitynd.com
- Instagram: heartfeltwritingnjm (Author page) projectdignitynd (Project Dignity)
- Facebook: Author – https://www.facebook.com/noellemyersauthor Project Dignity – https://www.facebook.com/projectdignitynd