“Recognized Voices”

A Studio Vibes Project

A Vibe at Next Step is a motivational reminder a young person living with chronic illness creates FOR them self, FROM them self. In Studio, working with a music therapist, young people create their “Vibe,” by identifying a moment in their life they want to focus on, that needs their attention and care. They create an original beat and combine that with a personal narrative written as a poem, song, mantra, story… whatever writing and music style captures their experience. They then have this audio track to travel the everlasting mile with them – what we call chronic illness at Next Step. We know the everlasting mile has its fair share of very real and complex challenges. We also know that along the way there are friends to find, community to build, music to make, and new steps to take.

For Studio Vibes 2022, a group of black youth gathered to discuss the impact and intersection of race and chronic illness in their lives. By building a safe space together, they were able to engage their shared experiences as black youth more deeply. “Recognized Voices” is the term they chose to represent “the need to listen to young people of color who are on the everlasting mile – whose voices hold a unique and valuable perspective.”