Nelga Kisula loves to draw. When she comes to Project STORY after school, art is her favorite thing the group does together.

But that hasn’t always been possible. The volunteer-run group, which offers free programming after school and in the summer for kids in Concord, never had a home base. They relied on Keach Park, weather permitting, as a place to get together, and there were days when director Charm Emiko had to cancel. 

That has now changed: On Friday, Project STORY — which stands for Supporting Talents of Rising Youth — cut the ribbon on its new home in Capital Center for the Arts, a lounge on the building’s third floor that the group can use anytime it needs. 

“It's really hard for our program and our kids to even access community spaces in Concord. There's a lot of barriers,” Emiko said. “Now we finally have our own space.”

Having a home base means Project STORY’s more than 100 members will have a place to house their growing library of books, craft supplies and games. They’ll have a place to run dance class, learn about leadership, create art and more. 

Eleven-year-old Kisula hopes her drawings — anime is her favorite style — will be up on the walls in the room someday soon. Emiko does, too. 

The Capital Center has donated the space to Project STORY as part of a growing relationship between the two organizations.  The center also helps to get Project STORY members tickets to shows they wish to see and served as its fiscal agent during the New Hampshire Gives campaign. Kids in the group also participate in the Overcomers Talent Show, which the Capital Center hosts on the Bank of NH Stage. 

“I have asked the staff here to think of us as a community service organization that focuses on the arts,” said Sal Prizio, executive director at the Capital Center. “When you think about the resources we have as an organization, we have facilities, we have space, we have a marketing department, we have accounting teams, all that sort of stuff… Anytime we can find ways reasonably within our organization that we can utilize our resources to help others, that's kind of what we're doing.” 

The need for space came up in conversation between Prizio and Emiko.

“Charm had mentioned to me that they didn't really have a home,” Prizio said. 

“Sal was like, ‘We have this big open space upstairs. Nobody's really using it. Why don't you use it?’” Emiko said. 

Emiko sees that welcoming, collaborative support as a model in Concord. 

“It's unifying us, it's unifying the community,” she said. “It's making people more connected with the kids and with these issues. So it was almost like a no brainer.”

There are still hurdles Project STORY is eager to surpass, most significantly transportation for its members. It is also in the process of gaining 501(c)(3) status. 

But, for now, a place to call their own makes all the difference. 

For 12-year-old Ishimwe Mugisha, it means not having to fear being forced out of another place or worry about how the program is going to pay for it. 

“We won't be judged,” he said. 

Catherine McLaughlin can be reached at cmclaughlin@cmonitor.com