'Stop the Violence' opening recording studio for Fresno youth

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno non-profit is taking action to keep students off the streets and offering a creative outlet for them to express themselves.

From producing to recording, the goal at New Waves studio is to help students make music from start to finish.

"How to do everything themselves," said artist Kyle Corbin. "How to own their stuff, how to make it, how to make money doing it."

Located inside the Hinton Community Center on Church and Fairview, the new music studio will provide students with a safe space.

"In this area, there's a lot of gang activity and gang intervention," said Stop the Violence Founder Joby Jones. "Stop the Violence is a strategy to overcome prison and poverty. This is a strategy to overcome those obstacles."

It was Kyle Corbin that came up with the idea and worked with Stop the Violence to make it happen.

"I was looking for a place and he provided," said Corbin. "I also have a vision for a classroom to teach kids to do what I do here."

It took six months to build the space from scratch and now, they're ready to put it to use this school year.

"They're learning to produce, to write it, then they're going to bring it all together and perform it in front of everybody," said Jones.

"How to build themselves, build their business, pretty much just taste the dream," said Corbin. "If their dream is music, this is the place to be."

There will be a fee for studio recording time but if cost is a barrier, staff say they'll find a way to work with students.

"At the end of the day, we don't want to turn people away that have a desire to learn something and do something," said Jones.

Right now, the team is working to secure grant funding and donations. To help them on their mission or to learn how your student can get involved, visit their website or their Instagram.