A Bridgeport nonprofit is using music to steer inner-city kids away from the street and into the right direction.

Rob Silvan runs KEYS, also known as Kids Empowered by Your Support. He says the organization provides one-on-one and group lessons to kids in Bridgeport who would otherwise have no way of receiving such sessions.

Instructor Michael Roche is helping one teen, 13-year-old Malik Williams, take his musical abilities to the next level. Williams' mother says the lessons seem to have made her son flourish.

Greenwich neurologist Dr. Frederick Nahm says brain mapping proves that music boosts focus and attention. "There are studies that have shown that music can improve one's total IQ score," he says.

Williams agrees, saying that the KEYS program helped him get on his school's honor roll. His mother says she has also seen positive improvements in his personality and self-confidence.

As it has in past summers, KEYS joined forces this year with another nonprofit, the Greenwich-based Back Country Jazz, to fund a music camp for inner-city kids.