Rather than positioning itself as a platform for complaints or critique, HCHM is designed as what Metzlar describes as a “digital round table” — a space where stories from both sides of care can exist together, offering insight, validation, and opportunities for learning.

What distinguishes the project is not only its focus on storytelling, but the care taken in how those stories are handled. All submissions are reviewed before publication and shared anonymously. The platform operates under Canadian privacy standards, with policies and processes that have undergone legal review to support ethical, trauma-informed storytelling from the outset.

This attention to process reflects the sensitivity of what is being shared.

“These stories often carry a lot,” Metzlar says. “It felt important to build something that could hold them responsibly — not just collect them.”

The initiative recently received early support from The Pollination Project, helping to fund foundational work including legal review of privacy and consent policies.

That review included input from a team associated with Chantal Bernier, contributing to the development of a framework designed to prioritize safety, clarity, and respect for contributors.

While still in its early stages, HCHM has already begun quietly appearing in communities across Canada, with informational materials shared in clinics, community spaces, and local gathering points.

The response so far has been subtle but telling.

“There’s a recognition,” says Metzlar. “People are carrying experiences they’ve never really had a place to share.”

The platform is now live, with stories from both patients and care providers already published and opportunities for others to contribute.

As the project grows, the focus remains steady: creating a space that invites reflection rather than reaction, and connection rather than division.

That same approach is beginning to extend beyond the digital platform.

HCHM is in the early stages of developing interactive, practice-based workshops for healthcare students and professionals — including those in nursing, medicine, paramedicine, and other fields involving direct patient care.

These sessions are grounded in real stories and focused on practical, in-the-moment skills: how to listen, how to respond, and how small shifts in communication can meaningfully change how care is experienced.

“These aren’t abstract concepts,” Metzlar says. “And they’re not about adding more work or new protocols. They’re about how care is delivered in the moments that are already happening — small, thoughtful ways of interacting that can build trust or unintentionally erode it.”