F.U.S.E. Creates Space for East End Kids, Art & Community

Michele Passerrello and Chris Carnevali are creating a space where East End children can F.U.S.E. creativity and community to build a better future.

The Point Breeze couple is opening the doors to the brand new nonprofit this October at 947 Penn Ave. in East Liberty. After changing careers from the health industry to education, Carnevali, a teacher at Wilkinsburg High School, was inspired by her students’ literacy challenges.

"I started off with a rocky beginning of the year in an urban setting, low-income and low-performing school," Carnevali said. "By the end pf the year, through relationships and creative planning, the kids blossomed. It wasn’t anything special on my part—it’s that they liked to be creative."

The students craved structure and the more they trusted Carnevali, the more improved they became in their work. Now, she wants to transfer that experience as a teacher into the organization of F.U.S.E.

“We are enlisting artists from all walks—DJ’s, musicians, painters—to engage children ages 13 to 19 in a way that the kids will learn something about the artist's trade,” Passerrello said. “In a curriculum fashion, we will have the kids implement that trade in projects that will happen in a six-week span.”

F.U.S.E., which stands for Fostering Skills for Urban Kids through Social-Emotional-Literacy Education, aims to give children artistic projects that can help them gain the education now lacking in public schools after budget by the state and cuts to arts programming.

“Six starting projects are established and through them, kids will gain more literacy skills,” Passerrello said. “The whole idea is to use the arts to obtain better literacy and achievement skills for children.”

During one project called, “Do you speak my language?” each child will select a particular genre of expression, whether it’s rap or spoken word, and will use the Mac interface to lay down beats and harmony. Justin Brown, a local musician and bass guitarist, will be teaching the class.

“During the process, they will learn—through these projects, there will be a lot of communicating and ways to socialize that these kids haven’t engaged in, so, unlike education and sitting in a classroom, we are actually creating a diaologue with these kids,” Passerrello said.

During another workshop called “Hip Hopera—The Drama Unfolds,” kids will be instructed in the creation, design and implementation of a rock opera. They will learn everything that is involved in it and then they will make their own and put it on somewhere.

Carnevali said it is all about the kids. The disparity between schools and the tools they have access to is another reason why she wanted to create F.U.S.E.—to add to the quality of the students' lives.

"You don't know when they leave here if they are going to eat until tomorrow at lunch or if they have a steady place to live," she said of her own students. "When you have that one-on-one like that, they are 15 years old and they have skills of a second grader—reading and writing—and that is criminal. It’s such a wasted thing that has happened in our system. These wonderful kids are so bright and creative and that is the driving reason."

The staff at F.U.S.E. is all-volunteer. Over the next decade, Passerello and Carnevali hope to see the model used by other schools and groups.

“The reason why I am all about this is that I was astonished that some of the kids have such low literacy rates,” she said. “On a human level, these kids are exceptionally bright and they communicate like everyone else, so I want to see their skills matched with their intellect.”

She also said they both are excited to make F.U.S.E. a family experience.

“On a personal level, we have two kids and with that sense of community, I think they will benefit so much by being involved in an organization like this,” Passerrello said. “They already have some relationships with these kids and that is really important to me.”

While they are still planning the classes and activities while building the structure of the organization, they also plan to have installations and shows where the kids can present their work and accomplishments.

In the end, it’s all about community involvement, she said.

“The East End is thriving,” Passerrello said. “People are buying up and renting lots to create green spaces and this is progressive. We are all trying to do something positive—there’s so much growth here.”

A fundraiser for F.U.S.E. will be held at 6 p.m. at Square Cafe Sept. 22 with a silent auction. F.U.S.E. is looking for donated items. They also are taking donations and are looking for volunteers. For more information visit http://www.fusepgh.org/.