Music is saving at-risk Denver youth

An initiative called Youth on Record works with 1,000 teenagers every year in Denver, Colorado, schools. Executive Director Jami Duffy says the students he works with are the oldest in public school -- kids who came to the United States after living in refugee camps, or students who have been homeless, or kids who have been in residential treatment facilities. Professional musicians from Youth on Record visit public schools to teach these at-risk youth about music. "To have musicians with the same backgrounds of the kids is just a magical experience and it's really motivating for young people to go to school every day," Duffy says.

                                                                                                                      Kyle Dyer (KUSA)
According to data collected by Youth on Record, 85 percent of its students have improved school attendance, and 71 percent have improved their grades. As they learn to love music, Youth on Record students are now getting booked for gigs around Denver, and the initiative has attracted corporate sponsors like the Denver Housing Authority and Children's Hospital Colorado.