Julian Omidi formed No More Poverty with his brother Michael Omidi to enrich people’s lives. Julian Omidi understands the importance of storytelling, which is why the Omidi Brothers are supporting The Story Project in Los Angeles through No More Poverty.
An article that I read last year has always stuck with me. The article I read was from the New York Times and discussed the benefits that storytelling had on patient health. What was most interesting was that there was information from a study included in the text that had scientific data that pushed the benefits of storytelling beyond anecdotal evidence.
The study, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, looked at the positive effects of telling and listening to stories on blood pressure and found that not only did all of those in the study see better blood pressure control, but those that suffered from uncontrolled hypertension achieved and maintained a drop in their blood pressure as significant as those that took medication.
Knowing this, think of the benefits that teaching children early on to use storytelling as a healthy mechanism in their lives could have on not only their lives but also on the lives of those around them. This is why I feel it is imperative to support charities such as The Story Project.
To quote Dr. Thomas K. Houston, who led the study:
“Telling and listening to stories is the way we make sense of our lives. Storytelling is human. We learn through stories, and we use them to make sense of our lives. It’s a natural extension to think that we could use stories to improve our health.”
The Story Project provides children with the ability to learn how to tell these stories through increasing literacy. Creative talent throughout Los Angeles volunteers their time and mentor children after-school, relating their skills and their personal experience in order to teach and inspire.
My brother Dr. Michael Omidi and I are proud to provide our support to The Story Project and help in their effort to provide the children of Los Angeles with one of the most important skills in life. Whether these children choose to go into the arts, marketing, history, science, or medicine, the ability to create and understand stories is imperative in all of these fields.
The Omidi Brothers hope that you will support the efforts of programs like The Story Project and others through our not-for-profit No More Poverty. Visit the No More Poverty Facebook page to learn more about this program and others.
Source:
Chen, Pauline W., M.D. “When Patients Share Their Stories, Health May Improve.”NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company, 10 Feb. 2011. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/health/views/10chen.html?_r=2&emc=eta1>.
Julian Omidi - Official Personal Blog 