St. Louis Story Stitchers uses art and music to help address youth violence
The St. Louis Story Stitchers use art and music to help address youth violence.
By Alexis Zotos
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ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — On any given day, you’ll find St. Louis junior Keith Brown making beats inside The Center, the headquarters for St. Louis Story Stitchers, an innovative program using art as a violence prevention method.
“I want to be an artist,” said Brown, 17. “For youth, we don’t have much to do. We’ve got our rec centers, but what about the kids who want to dance or podcast or do something different?”
Story Stitchers is an art collective for people ages 16-25. It’s the age most impacted by gun violence in our community.
“It’s very important to us that we show different options,” said Branden Lewis, the youth artistic coordinator.
He says podcasting is one of their most popular offerings. At their studio inside The Center located in Grand Center of St. Louis, they teach young people the ins and outs and pay them for their work.
Story Stitchers performs song and dance throughout the St. Louis community, spreading a message of hope and impacting lives beyond their program.
“I was just looking at a youth yesterday who told me a year ago this program saved his life,” said Lewis. “That’s the victory in what we do.”
To learn more and get involved: storystitchers.org
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