Chicago Sinfonietta believes that music is an artistic vehicle that can heal and transform. The RASA (Rehabilitation and Student Achievement) Project is focused on utilizing the healing and transformative powers of music to promote human connection and community wellness. The Jefferson Alternative School in the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center located on the West Side of Chicago is home to young people who deserve an opportunity for healing and restoration.

Through multiple partnerships including South Side Friends, The RASA Project focuses on interactive edutainment, holistic healing, and intellectual growth for youth in carceral systems. This program encourages healthy engagement through relationship building and circle keeping with a focus in community health and sustainable programming to aid in mental focus and facilitate rest and restoration. Programming features a book club on culture and history for youth empowerment, health and wellness practices, mind-body exercises, and music lessons.

For more information, or to inquire about partnerships, contact program manager Sadie Woods

RASA PROJECT PLAYLISTS

Check out these special Spotify playlists, curated specifically for The RASA Project by our Community Partners:

This playlist connects music to socio-political movements, exploring Hip Hop as empowerment for youth and communities of color. The messaging reinforces that you are bigger than your circumstances and your purpose is bigger than your struggles. Curated by Eugene “DJ Geno” Cohill.

This playlist takes the listener on a meditative journey observing self through sounds from around the world. Heightening the state of mindfulness in meditation helps to increase traits mindfulness, agency, awareness, and overall wellbeing. Curated by Shea Gardner.

This playlist captures the Young Lord’s spirit of collective resistance, honoring the past and the present. The playlist hopes to inspire listeners with the transformative power of solidarity, alongside the salving beauty of truth-telling. Curated by El Griot & Areito Project Founder Lilly Cruz.

Working with the body’s energy centers draws attention to our microcosmic orbit. Contemplation of the cosmic is well suited for Dub Reggae, using echo and delay effects in the music to propel us inward, into the inner universe. Curated by joshua bee alafia.