Gov. Shapiro visits West Philly music program to push for additional funding for youth diversion programs

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro spotlighted a West Philadelphia nonprofit Friday as he campaigned for additional funding for programs that work to reduce gun violence across Pennsylvania.

Shapiro toured Beyond the Bars, which mentors youth through music and leadership programs. The program started as a music workshop in a single jail and now operates more than 55 music labs around the city.

“I believe every child deserves to be able to make music and play sports and most importantly, every child deserves to dream big dreams no matter where they live, no matter what their zip code, no matter what their neighborhood looks like, they should have that freedom to be able to dream of limitless possibilities in their community,” Shapiro said.

Beyond the Bars was launched in 2015 by Matthew Kerr and Christopher Thornton as a volunteer music program for youth at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center. Kerr, who is also a co-director, said that he saw the incarcerated students “grow and thrive with music” and learn about the “conditions and systems that they had experienced that had led them up to that point.”

“Through our community and through music, our young people thrived,” he said. “But they also discussed experiencing things like housing and food insecurity, educational divestment, a lack of safe spaces to just be a kid, exposure to trauma and a general feeling of isolation and that the city didn’t care for them.”

Over the course of the last 10 years, Beyond the Bars evolved into a youth criminal diversion program. It has since grown to include the education center in West Philly and dozens of music labs with partners around the city, including schools, shelters, recreation centers and trauma centers. The organization now employs 10 people with backgrounds in education, criminal justice, music and production.

Dozens of students practiced their guitars, drums and vocals as Shapiro toured room to room Friday, talking to students such as 20-year-old Xavis Fauntleroy, who is working on a music career.

“I play keyboard but I also compose my own music as well,” Fauntleroy told WHYY News. “I would say I’m a music producer, a songwriter and beat maker.”

Given the competitive nature of the music industry, Fauntleroy said she studies psychology as a “backup” at the Community College of Philadelphia. She said she sees a strong connection between music and its power to heal performers and the audience.

“For example, jazz music, it has strong sounds and melodies inside of the song that just makes me relaxed or calm or less anxious,” she said.

Much of the growth at Beyond the Bars was enabled by the more than $500,000 in grants through the state’s Violence Intervention and Prevention program, created in 2018 and administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Since Shapiro took office, the program has provided $85 million in grants to more than 130 projects across Pennsylvania, including $42 million awarded to 64 projects in Philadelphia. The governor’s proposed 2025–26 budget seeks to expand those efforts with an additional $10 million for the program — raising total funding to $55 million — and another $10 million for the BOOST after-school program, along with plans to train more than 430 new state troopers.

The governor said Friday that the multiprong approach is what has led to the recent downturns in crime. According to state data, gun violence has dropped by 42% and gun deaths by 38% since early 2023. Violent crime statewide declined nearly 12% in 2024 compared to 2022.

“Yes, we have to invest in law enforcement, but we also have to invest in our neighborhoods,” he said. “We have to invest in communities and we have to invest in places like this that give our young people an outlet for their wonderful talents.”

Friday’s event drew several local and state officials, including state Rep. Amen Brown, a West Philadelphia native, who toured the space with Shapiro.

“The energy that you guys have created in this space is unmatched,” he said. “We need to stand together more than ever to protect our youth no matter what you believe in, no matter what side of the aisle we’re on. So big shout out to you and your entire team and the young people that stick with us come up through the program and give back.”

Isaiah Robinson, one of those young people, spoke at the press conference. He joined Beyond the Bars in 2020.

“From the start, I was walking into a safe space and loving environment, surrounded by mentors and peers who share similar interests,” he said. “As time went on, I had the opportunity to help bring a music program to my high school. As a student-teacher, I’ve seen so many amazing and talented youth throughout the city, which motivated me to do even more connecting those youth to additional resources. Because of these experiences I’ve been inspired to pursue a career in social work.”