Stories
Everything you need to know about Storycatchers.
Welcome to our blog. Our newsfeed. Our point of view on everything that’s important to what we do. Scroll through to find something that interests you.
The Show Goes On.
This time period is often described as unprecedented, uncertain, the new normal. Many have adapted to the current circumstances – social distancing, wearing masks to grocery shop, and finding a fine...
Leaving Zacatecas – A Walk Across the Border
Written by Alvaro P. - A member of the Firewriters Ensemble ––– Damon was our first son together. I walked across the border, Never asking ‘if’ or ‘whether’ I walked away from Zacatecas To find mi...
The Very Model of a Modern Major General
We missed seeing J. in our Storycatchers program for a few weeks - he was busy doing other things. He is part of a special group of young men at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center called the...
The Magic of Ensemble – How Did We Get Here?
The members of the Temporary Lockdown Ensemble stood united at the curtain call, radiating pure joy. They were so proud of themselves, and deservedly so, for the performance they had just given of...
Jawaun Joins Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago Youth Council
We are thrilled to share that Jawaun Stamps, a 19-year-old Changing Voices Ensemble Member and Peer Mentor, was appointed to Mayor Lightfoot’s Youth Council as a youth advocate. He was one of 23...
Storybox #2 – Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale
Storycatchers installed a second Storybox in Chicago – this one is in the city’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Stone Temple Baptist Church is a neighborhood pillar, and its pastors welcomed the...
What is Case Management and Why is it Critical to Our Work?
It can be easy to forget all the factors that go into being successful at work. When we discuss job skills we often consider time management, communication, and technological skills. However... What...
A Memo to Mayor Lightfoot
Mayor Lightfoot sent out a city-wide request for feedback about how to improve Chicago’s education system. Our young adults in Changing Voices, all of whom who have been through the public school system, wrote this memo about what her priorities should be.
About our Musical Week with Samora Pinderhughes
He sat in the middle of the rehearsal room behind a 76-key keyboard. He’s not a big guy, so he was mostly covered up by the keyboard, its speaker, and the snapback on his head sporting the words ‘Peace King.’ “Can I play a song for you?”
Skills for Chicagoland’s Future
Introducing a new partner and a new program to provide our Changing Voices youth with the job readiness and future planning skills they need to succeed.
Introducing Edmund Buck!
We're thrilled to welcome alumnus Edmund Buck to our Board of Directors! When asked why he joined the Board, Edmund responded, "Learning of an opportunity for me to join the Board of Directors of...
A Note From Cheri
January 15, 2019. It’s Tina’s first session with us. She is a 17-year-old Latina girl, with long hair with raspberry-colored streaks. She is quiet, respectful, pale, somber. She looks like she...
3 Panels in 6 Days: Youth on the Mic
Storycatchers is in the community in a big way this week. Victory Gardens. The Holocaust Museum. At a board member’s residence. Learn what our staff and youth are doing to inspire and create real change.
Finding the Light in Your Darkness
Read about the success of the Changing Voices Ensemble’s first performance of their original show, “The Light in My Darkness.” Program Manager Cristina White shares how the youth have inspired her to make changes in her own life.
Court-Involved Youth Premiere Play at New Arts Space [Press Release]
Light in My Darkness will be presented as a staged reading of works-in-progress at the new Washington Park arts space Green Line Performing Arts Center. Green Line is a much-needed $5.5 million professional theater on Chicago’s South Side.
The Lives You May Not Know
On a cold January evening, about fifty people and two Storycatcher’s teaching artists converged in the middle of Chicago’s American Writer’s Museum on Michigan Avenue. Audience members and experts had a conversation on the impact of performing arts programming in prisons.
Holiday Stories From Our Youth
2019 is off to an energetic start for Changing Voices! Our youth returned from a two week break focused and ready to work. During their time off, they wrote letters and stories about their loved...
Sarge’s Story – An Ensemble Doesn’t Forget
A moving five minute must-read that will help you understand how giving youth a voice through stories is powerful, lasting and necessary.