NEW YORK (PIX11) -- The revolving door of justice is alarming to so many.
Close to 44% of those recently incarcerated return to prison in the first year. There’s a program bringing professional musicians to mentor those in prison, which is having lots of success.
The program is called Music on the Inside or MOTI.
Chontay Smith was serving 25 years in prison for a drug offense when he joined the Music on the Inside program.
His voice teacher said he was the ideal student. Moti also gave him a keyboard, and now he wants to pay it forward by helping others.
“Music is everything,” Chontay Smith, a formerly incarcerated singer, told PIX11 News. “That’s why my goal is to continue to pursue and work with Music on the Inside to help others to pursue their dream to share their music with the world."
MOTI was created by Alina Bloomgarden almost nine years ago.
The nonprofit is growing yearly to bring hope and healing to those in prison or newly released through the transformative power of music.
“In our society, people are forgotten and dismissed,” Alina Bloomgarden, the founder of Music on the Inside, told PIX11 News. “To see there are so many talented people to see the kind of connections that are made."
Jazz saxophonist Don Braden was the first volunteer mentor teacher inside the prison walls in this Music on the Inside program.
“Prison is misery, and it could really just squash the human spirit,” Braden, an accomplished saxophonist and educator, told PIX11 News. “Music keeps it alive."
Dawud Rahman's lessons from Don Braden while in prison changed his life.
“It’s uplifting,” Dawud Rahman, a formerly incarcerated saxophonist, told PIX11 News. “I don’t know if I would still be alive right now if it wasn’t for Music. It’s a life stabilizer, I guess you could say,” Rahman added.
Music on the Inside always seeks more volunteers, donations and teachers.
If you’d like to find out how to help, check out their website, musicontheinside.org.
English (US) ·