Drawing inspiration from the Humans of New York series, the mother-of-two is recording interviews and photographing strangers around Cessnock.

Founder Rebecca Murray said the project's focus was about "valuing the people".

"I wanted to do something to give back to Cessnock. I kept coming back to the thought that people weren't feeling valued," she said.

"Cessnock is actually a really nice place. I had been following Humans of New York for some time and I really admire what he does.

"After a while of reading it, I thought about why people love it. He's valuing people and he's doing it equally regardless of their life experience."

So far, the page has shared the stories of 13 people from the Cessnock area including finding god to living on the streets. "I have met some really lovely people but also met quite a few rejections. It's been a really sharp learning curve," Ms Murray said.

"I'm hoping it will be more organic one day."

While the project currently only releases two stories a week on Tuesday and Thursday, Ms Murray has big dreams. "The plan is one day to be able to release new stories about new people every day once I work out how to support it. But we're just beginning so it's baby steps for now," she said.

For more information or become involved with People of Cessnock, visit peopleofcessnock.com.