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No Affiliation is a Providence based safe-space initiative rooted in the concept of emotional expression through musical and lyrical production.This program works closely with at-risk youth throughout Rhode Island to provide guidance, self- worth, and support through musical recording sessions. NA works closely with the Institute for the Study and Practice of Non- Violence and Providence College to promote Martin Luther King Jr.‘s principles of Non-Violence and develop a beloved community.
The No Affiliation Music Program was established in 2008 with the vision of providing an activity that appeals to all youth and provides a positive mechanism for personal expression. This initial pilot program found funding from a DoSomething.org grant and held a once per week recording workshop at the Tavares Center (A Chad Brown Public Housing Project recreation center). The pilot program showed extreme success and began to develop strong relationships throughout the city of Providence. In short time, the popularity of the program generated the need for a twice per week meeting and larger studio space. This was found at MOE Grindtunes on the Southside of Providence during 2010. After a consistent program for much of 2010 we began an aggressive campaign to raise awareness, support, and funds to expand our program and involve prominent programs throughout Rhode Island. After considerable time and energy No Affiliation received fiscal sponsorship from both Providence College and the Institute for the Study and Practice of Non-Violence. Through persistence and a copious amount of events and benefit concerts we raised over $5,000 in order to purchase our own recording/ editing equipment, produce 500 donor/ investor portfolios, publish noaffiliation.org, provide transportation and food for participants, and host a number of concerts throughout Providence.
No Affiliation urban youth music program runs in partnership with the Feinstein Institute and (ISPN) the Institute for the Study and Practice of Non-Violence and enables underprivileged youth in urban areas to release their emotions through musical and lyrical expression. Our program is rooted in the principles and values put forth by ISPN, as well as combines the freedom of emotional release in pursuit of mental homeostasis and personal development.
The goal of this program is to help the youth develop their musical talent through emotional expression while also enriching their lives with non-violent themes and ideals. We have established a safe space where anything can be said or discussed in the vocal booth. It has become their emotional outlet, giving them self- empowerment, a sense of achievement, and above all a sense of meaning. This program has the flexibility necessary to provide a release at whatever times a participant is in need. This 24/7 program has been established under the fiscal sponsorship of the Institute for the Study and Practice of Non-Violence and Providence College. We have a recording studio at Providence College using the equipment we purchased and will soon have a second location permanently within the ISPN building in Providence. It provides neutral ground for all participants while also reinforcing the principles of non-violence held by the non- profit and its staff.

Throughout history music and lyrical education has been both a healthy outlet of emotion and a driver of cultural change. Societal revolutions such as the Harlem Renaissance have found strength through music. This is due in no small part to the beneficial homeostasis and physiological changes a public expression of emotion can provide following a traumatic event. The extensive benefits that lyrical creations such as music can provide are relatively unknown to most people. This is an excellent outlet for youth in Providence as it enables the expression of states of being such as concerns, hopes, dreams and stories as well as emotions such as anger, joy, and sadness. Expression of these feelings is critical to healthy developmental progression for any youth, especially one that is personally affected by violence and poverty.
Our reality is built on a cultural,economic, and societal complexity which intertwines music throughout all of it. Music distributes ideas and ideals of our culture as well provides an ability for youth to excel in a form of learning unassociated, in large part, from traditional curriculum based learning. Music education can provide students with a sense of determination, improved communication skills, and self- discipline. As Chief Operating Officer of AT&T stated, “ Music Education will help them as they grow smarter to also grow wiser.”
Music education has become even more of a dire strait as our country’s economic recovery needs have translated to cuts in various arts programs as well as the larger crisis of states finding necessity in closing a number of schools. With the debate on public education funding hitting the front page of national newspapers, finding prominence in new station headlines throughout the country, and becoming the subject of a number of documentaries including “Lottery” and “Waiting on Superman,”music education and the campaign to save it seems to be ever more necessary and relevant.

Providence, Rhode Island is one of the poorest cities in the nation for young people, a statistic that corresponds with high levels of youth violence and gang activity. The recent economic downturn has compounded the issues with poverty. In Providence there are 250,000 youth under the age of 18 and 40% of these youth suffer with a life at or below the poverty level. At the same time, gang membership in the city has increased to 1,400, a statistic that rivals those in much larger cities. The Institute for the Study and Practice of Non-Violence, a non-profit organization with the mission of reducing violence within Providence, conducted a survey of the youth in their summer jobs program to reveal how damaging this violence is. This unveiled, “that nearly 50% of the respondents had lost a family member to murder; 75% had lost a friend to violence; 90% had a friend who was stabbed or shot; nearly 90% said they regularly witness violence in their schools.” This harsh reality leaves youth yearning for a mechanism for release of their emotions. Without the provision of a healthy outlet youth will become caught up in temptations and local pressures, lash out with violence, or develop detrimental psychological disorders.
At first, we believed No Affiliation was established and run to solely benefit the youth involved in it. As our program grew and developed it became clear that No Affiliation not only benefits the youth participants but the staff and larger community of Providence, RI. Our favorite part was having the ability to see the participants, community, and ourselves grow in unison.
Our participants come into the program hardened by their experiences and show extreme hostility, desperation, and aggressiveness. Their rough edges create initial tension and cause us to dive even deeper into the individual. We begin to peel the layers of their inner selves back and discover how we can develop specific programs that appeal to their needs. The transformation and growth we see in the youth in our program is one of the most rewarding parts of No Affiliation.
For example, a youth named Dru Barells came into No Affiliation in 2009 as a 19 year old who dropped out of high school, was selling drugs, and consistently utilized extreme violence and aggression in unwarranted situations. As we began to work more closely with Dru we learned his complex childhood and adolescence and understood how those events had influenced his behavior and actions. Our continued pursuit of Dru to express his emotions through music led to him releasing almost 10 heartfelt songs within six months. As of 2011, Dru has received musical sponsorship from AraabMuziik and DJELS, has gotten and excelled at a full- time job at a local assisted living care center, and has stopped his involvement with drug activity all together. Watching the Dru of 2011 interact with volunteers, PC students, and his own friends alike is like looking at a completely different person. The angry self- conscious teen we began this program with no longer exists.
Another moving story is that of Tina Phonepraseuth. This 19 year old artist has been with the program since 2008. Her entire life, she has been around gangs due to family. Her brother was sentenced to 40- 60 years at the age of 16 for murder. She attempts to still maintain a strong relationship with her brother and No Affiliation provides transportation for her to and from ACI prison in RI to visit him. This event has given Tina great determination to change her life and her future. After removing herself as far as possible from Laos Pride, a southeast Asian gang, Tina received a job at Balise Toyota in Providence, completed a non- violence training program and committed herself to the study and practice of positive emotional expression.
Stories like these keep our team motivated, inspired, and extremely engaged in the goal of developing urban youth, humanizing Providence teens, and providing a safe space for them. Our favorite moments are the realizations of our organization’s and individual positive influence on a youth involved in the program. Its our ability to mentally picture the progression youth have had since first joining No Affiliation. We have seen young people overcome so much and achieve more than we ever thought possible. Those moments we cherish, those moments drive us to continue our work.

One feature of our program that we have not touched on is the uniqueness of it in terms of participants. No Affiliation stands apart from other programs in this contest because a lot of the youth we work with are no longer in school. We help youth that have dropped out due to family issues, financial instability, jail, safety, grades, etc. Save The Music is a campaign to attempt to raise awareness about schools dropping arts programs from their budgets, but what happens when these youth leave school? Is this issue less important? No Affiliation is attempting to solve an issue of a lack of music education and expression not only with individuals who attend school but with youth who no longer do. I believe this fact separates our cause from many other programs competing in this Battle of the Bands. We attempt to not discriminate against those that have not be fortunate enough to finish high school or college. We take these individuals in, embrace what they have to offer, and attempt to enrich their lives with the freedom of expression and non- violent principles.

Our program is currently investing an immense amount of energy on expansion and development because we believe No Affiliation is a program that works. It helps educate youth, develop their musical talents and self- esteem, as well as provides a safe space where participants can release their emotions. We are too invested in the community, the youth involved, and the positive outcomes our program is producing to stop. I believe our program has changed lives in Providence, RI. Our vision is to have a No Affiliation recording studio/ support services building in every major city in the country. I am a Public and Community Service Major at Providence College: helping others is what I do. This program has become a lifeline for so many young people in Providence we can not stop.
No Affiliation has put plans in place to give individuals at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Non-violence leadership roles in our satellite studio in their building for stability, create an opportunity for Providence College students to join our cause to fulfill both service requirement hours and internship/independent study courses, and we have begun plans to expand into various public libraries throughout Providence in an effort to spread our wings even further.
The negative influences in these young people’s lives are relentless and that is how our effort must be as well. We must never stop reaching for more, No Affiliation must succeed because failure is not an option. Not for these youth, not for this program, and not for me personally. No Affiliation will continue to grow, develop, and mold into a prominent positive force in Providence, RI. Please help us in our mission!