A ‘Katalyst’ For Change

Kirby Grey uses beats, rhymes and hip hop shows as a catalyst for positive change in her community. Aa Solid Ground JustServe AmeriCorps member, Kirby serves this year as Prevention Program Coordinator for the Washington Asian Pacific Islander Families Against Substance Aabuse (WAPIFASA).

She’s teamed up with red hot local hip hop artists from the Mass Line label to create the Katalyst Pproject — training youth in the Hip Hop arts as a meaningful alternative to violence and stagnation through personal expression.

Kirby came to WAPIFASA through Solid Ground’s JustServe AmeriCorps program. A recent graduate of Seattle University, she was active in a number of student organizations there.

“But I felt like I was really disconnected from the community as a whole,” she says. “In the end I didn’t see how being connected to the school community could help me in the future. My goal is to be connected to the community that I am a part of and to work in that community.”

Kirby learned about WAPIFASA from her college advisor, who served on its board. Well known in the API community since 1990 for their counseling and treatment programs, the agency sought to launch a substance abuse prevention effort as well. They were in the process of applying for a JustServe member to launch the project and found Kirby’s skill set, interest in youth and immersion in hip hop culture to be a perfect fit.

“Without Kirby we would not have been able to do a lot of the programs we are doing this year,” says Greg Garcia, WAPIFASA’s Executive Director. “JustServe has meant everything to help us get this program started.” For most of her AmeriCorps year, Kirby has worked part time while completing her theology degree.

She oversees the Youth Lounge/Leadership Council drop-in program as well as the innovative Katalyst Project, funded by a City of Seattle arts grant.

“Kirby connected us to Mass Line,” Greg says. “She provided a lot of energy to our youth and built good relationships with the Leadership Council. I see our youth being more interested in the community. They used to just hang around, make graffiti. Now they are going to protests, working on videos and getting engaged.” Read More