Ypsi library’s “Noise Permit” summer youth program to expand with added funding

On the Ground Ypsilanti is an “embedded journalism” program covering the city and township of Ypsilanti. It is supported by Ann Arbor SPARK, the Center for Health and Research Transformation, Destination Ann Arbor, Eastern Michigan University, Engage @ EMU, Washtenaw Community College, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, and Washtenaw ISD.

The Ypsilanti District Library (YDL) has received additional grant funding from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council to expand its annual Noise Permit summer program for young people, bringing new technology, workshops, and mentorship opportunities to local youth this year.

The arts council increased its support for the program to more than $15,000, allowing the library and its longtime community partner, Ozone House, to expand beyond the music-focused workshops that have defined Noise Permit in past years. In addition to workshops on making beats, writing lyrics, recording audio, and live performance training, this summer’s program will now include sessions on videography, visual storytelling, and video editing.

“We really wanted to focus on increasing our capacity for teaching and providing access to the technology and materials,” YDL Librarian Stephanie Pocsi-Morrison said in a press release on the grant. “With access to our own set of digital audio workstations and videography equipment, we can invite teen and young adult participants to record at the library or Ozone House whenever they are free.”

Program organizers say the added equipment will allow youth to continue learning outside scheduled workshops, either at the library or through Ozone House’s drop-in center. 

Pocsi-Morrison notes that the technology can also help participants develop practical skills useful to careers in media production, social media, and digital communications. But she and fellow workshop organizer and YDL Paraprofessional Shayla Card Nowlin say the impact of Noise Permit extends well beyond technical training.

“Learning how to use your voice in writing is the key to advocacy,” Card-Nowlin said in the release. “Learning how to collaborate is how we learn how to ask for help, and being in a community is how we learn to create a safe space for all.”

The free program, open to youth ages 10-24, brings together participants from schools and neighborhoods across the Ypsilanti area. Card-Nowlin says the workshops are designed to help teens build confidence, process emotions, and connect with peers through creative expression.

“It’s about knowing how to advocate for yourself and your peers, but also taking the time to learn about storytelling and process your story,” Card-Nowlin says in an interview with Concentrate. “If they’re in a tough spot and see injustice happening, they can take that new confidence they receive in those workshops to speak up for themselves or for others.”

This year’s program will also introduce “Wednesday Night Table Talk,” a weekly dinner series where guest artists will speak with participants about creative careers, self-expression, and sustaining artistic passions outside hustle culture.

Pocsi-Morrison says the program’s broader mission is to create a welcoming environment where young people feel heard and valued.

“We constantly minimize the effort that the youth put into just existing,” Pocsi-Morrison says in an interview with Concentrate. “If we can create a program that shows them that we are listening, we can make space in this world where their existence is celebrated and they are learning.”

Noise Permit workshops will take place Mondays and Wednesdays at 4 p.m. at YDL’s Michigan Avenue branch. The series kicks off June 8. For more information, visit the Noise Permit website or contact Pocsi-Morrison at smorrison@ypsilibrary.org.

“We’ll learn together,” Card-Nowlin says. “It’s not about being perfect.”