Painting with a purpose

Local youth worked on a mural all afternoon Wednesday in Yuba City creating a video to help "stop the violence," an effort to raise awareness about gang violence.

The project is coordinated by Friday Night Live and the Sutter County Probation Department.

In the video, an angry young man decides to spray graffiti on a business but is stopped by an adult who convinces him to do something better.

They and other youth who join them end up creating a mural that states "Stop the violence."

The mural was created on the side of NorCal Auto Body, at 600 Franklin Ave., Yuba City.

The whole point of the video is about a teen doing something bad, but with help from the community and mentors, turns a negative into a positive, said Carmen Smith, FNL program coordinator.

"If the community steps up and it becomes (a youth's) family, gangs are not an influence," she added.

The final product, a 30-second video, is among four public service announcement videos that will premiere at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Friday Night Live's third-floor auditorium, 301 Fourth St., Marysville.

The free program also includes video diaries created by participating youths from Camp Maxine Singer, a Marysville minimum security facility for juveniles.

Youths on probation and at Camp Singer came up with the ideas for the videos and wrote the scripts.

The videos also will appear as public service announcements on Comcast Cable TV.

Derek Coleman, 17, of Yuba City, a volunteer with FNL for the past four years, plays the angry young man.

He has personal experience with gang violence because of an older brother involved in gangs and is now in jail.

"I didn't want to turn out like him," Coleman said, adding that his brother is hurting himself and other people. He hopes kids get the idea of trying to stop the violence.

"I think the message being there might make you think," said Talliskoa Tablit, 33, of Boise, Idaho, the "mentor" in the video.

It might not stop kids in their tracks, but make them think.

Tablit, an artist, was on vacation visiting family in California when his cousin, Michael Tablit, deputy superintendent with Camp Singer, asked for his help. 

• What: "Stop the Violence" video premiere

• When: 6 p.m. Saturday

• Where: Friday Night Live, third-floor auditorium, 301 Fourth St., Marysville

• Admission: Free

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Leticia Gutierrez at 749-4722 or at lgutierrez@appealdemocrat.com.