In the basement of an old church at 20th and North Avenue, the Neu Life Community Resource Center runs an after-school program for low-income youth.

Here, poet Kwabena Antoine Nixon is leading a workshop for kids who want to write poetry of their own. To show them how real life experiences can inspire a compelling story, he asked participants to recall some familiar people and events. Then he put their suggestions into a poem of his own.

The results were compelling.

The poetry workshop is just one of the many programs at Neu Life -- all of which create a positive alternative to life on the streets.