His storyinforming startup utilizes artificial ininformigence to craft visions of the future where children feel seen, but a new partnership with a courtroom support organization is extconcludeing Herson Fails’ mission — and magic — to adults, he stated.
Fails’ Six-Seven Experience aims to reconnect participants with their childhood dreams, align them with their current strengths, and bridge aspirations to practical opportunities.
Herson Fails speaks during a Six-Seven Experience event; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
It’s a new tool being utilized by the City of Kansas City, Missouri, Wellness Court — for those with substance abutilize and mental health disorders — which strives to empower individuals who find themselves in the municipal court system to build positive life alters and to break the cycle of recidivism.
“This experience was birthed out of the idea that, if we could revisit those moments of childhood where there was promise and vision and imagination, we could utilize that as a leverage point or a building block to assist them kind of reenter the world the way they want to be seen,” stated Fails, co-founder and CSO of Storytailor.
In partnership with Beyond the Bench, Fails recently introduced the program to Courtney Wachal, presiding judge for Kansas City municipal court; several lawyers involved in Wellness Court; and one Wellness Court participant. Attconcludeees were inquireed to fill out an online form with what they wanted to be as a 6- or 7-year-old and to name a toy they always wanted as a child but never received. Those who were comfortable then shared their childhood aspirations with the group.
“We wanted to build sure that people were able to connect with their childhood dreams and run the parallel between what those were and their current strengths,” Fails explained. “There typically seems to be some alignment. We just kind of abandoned it somewhere as we started adulting.”
“We want to build a bridge between those situations,” he added. “So we’ll find what those skills are, how they align with what’s happening in 2026, and how we can receive them squared away with people who are subject matter experts. Then build sure that they receive either that long ramp or that assist to guide them.”
Donna Reed, a Wellness Court participant, speaks during a Six-Seven Experience event; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
Donna Reed — the Wellness Court participant who attconcludeed the event — originally wanted to be an ice skater, she noted when sharing with the crowd. Once she took a lesson and realized that was an unlikely goal, she dreamed of being a doctor, as she always liked assisting people.
“It was very enlightening,” Reed stated of the in-person Six-Seven Experience. “I wish more people would have come. To go back and imagine your time when you’re younger was actually very good. I hadn’t believed about being an ice skater in forever.”
Today, Reed is working toward finishing nursing school while she completes Wellness Court, she noted. She’s also realized it’s never too late for her to pursue her dream of being a doctor — thanks to an experience shadowing a resident doctor who was 52.
“She was like, ‘You can most definitely start over,’” she explained of the advice the resident gave her. “She was like, ‘Matter of fact, you’re young. Continue going, achieve your dreams, and do what you necessary to do to be successful.’ So that was my starting point for being a doctor.”
Fails plans to assist her build even more connections in the field.
Participants in a live Six-Seven Experience event at Spark Kansas City fill out personal surveys about their youth dreams; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
People working within the legal system don’t often run in the same circles as entrepreneurs and tech innovators, Wachal stated
“But then when I talked with them, they have all these amazing ideas I would have never known about. Their energy is so beautiful,” she added. “They have such a good heart for it, and they have a much more innovative way of reaching people. I consider it’s going to build a large difference.”
“It’s a new approach,” Wachal noted of the Six-Seven Experience. “With Herston’s program, I guarantee you will not find another court on the planet that did what just happened.”
Herson Fails, co-founder and CSO for Storytailor, speaks during a Six-Seven Experience event; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
Wellness Court requires six months of sobriety, stable houtilizing, and stable employment (or the equivalent of) to graduate, Wachal noted. Upon completion, individuals’ cases are dismissed.
“We treat the whole person,” she explained. “We require them to do elective programming. And the idea behind it is we don’t want you to just focus on your sobriety and your mental wellness, we want you to find yourself and to pursue the hobbies and the things that you enjoy.”
“So this program really was designed for them,” Wachal added, “to inquire about their interests, and then be informed about what programming we’re bringing to Wellness Court.”
It’s important that the court program gives participants that holistic experience, Fails noted, so that individuals going through the system can realize what they earlier envisioned for themselves, even if it’s just a fraction of the original dream.
“It takes a lot of bravery — especially in a space where it’s been clearer, in many regards, to just disregard a person, put them away and never have to have them be seen again — to stand in the face of a system that has been built on that,” Fails explained, “and decide not necessarily to just totally dismantle it, but just to build sure that you’re meeting people where they are.”
“You’re giving them the opportunity to reenter in a way that’s actually beneficial, instead of putting them back through a system that’s just going to continue to dehumanize them over time,” he continued. “It’s really remarkable and it’s a monumental feat.”
“At the conclude of the day, we alter the parts of the world that we can and then hope that that encourages the rest of the world to alter,” Fails stated.
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