High school athletes find a way to center themselves amidst violence in the community

Student athletes in a North Carolina high school found a new way to cope with violence in their community. They created a special space in their school. AYESHA RASCOE, HOST: When a group of student-athletes in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was confronted with violence in their community, they wanted a place to talk about their feelings. They asked if their school could give them a space to gather and cope. As Amy Diaz from member station WFDD reports, they've created what's called The Restoration Room. AHMAD ARNOLD: We're going to breathe in through our nose, hold it for four seconds and then we're going to breathe out... AMY DIAZ, BYLINE: Seventeen-year-old Ahmad Arnold (ph) stands in the center of a big open classroom, leading a group of nine teenage boys in breathing exercises. The students are sitting cross-legged on yoga mats in a circle around him. They all inhale and exhale together. ARNOLD: Breathe out. (EXHALING) DIAZ: This is The Restoration Room at Carver High School. The chalkboard walls are filled with quotes from the teens, like no judgment, positivity in our progress and just breathe. The school serves a neighborhood with some of the highest levels of poverty in Winston-Salem. But after the students' third exhale, Principal Thyais Maxwell has them travel somewhere else. THYAIS MAXWELL: You're going to close your eyes and you're going to envision your peaceful place. DIAZ: One student imagined a warm cabin that smelled like cinnamon. …