What we do at every stop

We bring our program to schools, colleges, and communities across the country. Every visit does three things.

Where it started

When our founder, Alexandra Miles, was young, her mother told her a story about a paper bag: imagine all your problems in a bag, set it in a pile with everyone else’s, and trade it for someone else’s paper bag. Would you? Do you know what’s in someone else’s paper bag? The point was simple. Everyone has a paper bag – what is inside might be different, but we are not alone. Everyone is carrying something. We cannot see inside. But we can share what’s in ours bravely, and be there to help see and care for what someone else might be holding.

In 2018, Alexandra was diagnosed with anorexia and learned how heavy that silence is when help feels out of reach. In treatment she met a young woman with a blackbird tattooed on her neck, and through poetry they found they were not so alone. She made a film about her, and built Project Blackbird so no one has to carry it in silence, alone, or without a way to get help.