Creative Futures for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Youth from marginalized backgrounds are cut off from creative industries; this is especially true for youth experiencing homelessness. In 2023, 80% of the youth SPY served identified as BIPoC, including 50% as Black/African American and 30% as Latinx. In addition, 18% identified as LGBTQIA+, 41% reported a mental health disorder, 67% a history of family trauma and 29% experience in foster care. The 1,700+ youth SPY served last year are part of the almost 4,000 youth in LA County experiencing homelessness. They lack basic needs (shelter, food, health), barring them from unpaid internships, mentorships, and the confidence and capacity to tap into creative industries. SPY addresses these issues by providing comprehensive services— counseling, housing, meals, and education and employment support-- with hands-on training in digital arts, music, e-commerce, visual art and more. At the same time, youth build self-esteem and trust with staff, encouraging them to engage in more SPY services.

SPY’s Healing Arts program allows unhoused youth to grow their talent, develop technical and transferable skills, get paid internships, mentorship, and income, and be supported as they find employment and permanent housing. The program includes weekly workshops and open studios equipped with art supplies, musical instruments, a digital arts lab, and a full-time supportive staff, many with lived experience. Youth can participate in our e-commerce site, The Color of Hope Collective and, in our new facility opening later this summer, display their work in our store-front window.
Our program is unique in that Healing Arts staff work collaboratively with SPY’s other departments, including Housing, Health, and Education & Employment, to ensure that youth can stabilize and their professional development can be a priority. Participation in Healing Arts is often the first engagement with SPY; those who participate are more likely to enroll in SPY’s other programs. As one participant said, SPY is “An opportunity to become the best version of myself that knows support is always around.” It is also a way for business partners and the community to get to know and support their unhoused neighbors; we have welcomed partnerships with MGM/Amazon, United Talent Agency, and Snap Inc.

We envision a socially just world where all young people lead safe, stable, self-directed lives. This includes youth being able to choose a career based on their creative talents, and to otherwise express themselves and gain confidence. They also will have more equitable access to rewarding employment, and build skills in the arts, as well as in marketing.
However, art isn’t just about money; it’s about conversations. When artists from different backgrounds share their stories, they open doors to understanding. A Los Angeles with diverse arts will foster empathy, avoid stereotypes, and spark dialogue. It will make our community richer, more inclusive, and more connected. At the same time as we change the lives of these youth, Los Angeles as a whole will be enriched, when the voices of youth, diverse not only in their ethnicity, but in their experiences, enhance the arts, and help build all residents’ understanding and appreciation of diversity.

Our ability to create access to the arts is first measured through program participation; last year, over 1,000 youth took part in our Healing Arts program. We also track the number of youth who move on to industry employment; participants of our Healing Arts Program have gained employment at The Giving Keys, a jewelry design company and Manifest Works, becoming a Production Assistant for film/television. Success is also measured by our coordinated wrap-around services, including our ability to connect youth to housing and to employment opportunities. This past year, SPY connected 370 previously unhoused youth to housing, 62 unemployed youth gained employment or paid internships, and 502 youth worked with Case Managers. Youth engaged in our Healing Arts program are more likely than others to engage in these outputs, and make progress toward personal goals.