Youth are also provided with work-readiness training, leadership development and help with college enrollment and financial aid to assist in their continued success once they've completed the program.
Las Artes de Maricopa County is a unique youth education program made possible through the collaboration of two organizational entities; the Valley of the Sun YMCA, and Maricopa County Human Services Department. Established within the Glendale and Maryvale Communities in 2007, this innovative program has since served over 300 youth and achieved an 88% success rate in assisting youth between the ages of 16-21 attain a GED diploma. Created in response to the many detrimental social issues and system failures that Maricopa youth are faced with on a daily basis, Las Artes’ hybrid structure combines artwork and GED instruction to provide three key elements that are essential to the success of each student and are often lacking within the traditional education systems: personal connection and guidance from staff, self-discipline through professional skills development, and opportunity for self-affirmation through GED completion and continued education. For youth confronted with gang violence, drugs, unstable living conditions, criminal backgrounds, and parenthood among many other obstacles, Las Artes is a place of new beginnings; a safe and supportive environment that fosters creativity through art while challenging the student to look beyond their current situation and dream of a better tomorrow. Las Artes is more than just a program or a school; it is a place where the youth is allowed and encouraged to redefine their self-image, their outlook on the surrounding community, the role they play in it, and the personal goals and values they hold as an adult citizen within the greater society. Art is the medium through which students discover the power of self-expression and self-awareness by having the chance to focus their thoughts and emotions into an art piece of personal significance. While enrolled in Las Artes, students are also given the opportunity to work on individual and group projects which may be sold or commissioned and the profits given directly to the student teaching an aspect of entrepreneurship the student can continue to use in other endeavors. By utilizing civic engagement as an experiential medium, students are reconnected to the people and resources within their communities that can assist them in continuing a positive progression towards goals that the student believes will better their individual future and consequently that of their family as well. Over the years, Las Artes students have contributed to numerous murals and art projects which have been put on public display for the community’s enjoyment and have participated in a myriad of community service activities. Past endeavors of Las Artes cohorts have included: murals and individual artwork displayed at the ASU West and Downtown campuses, a large-scale tile mosaic mural at Saguaro Park in Glendale, collaborative art projects with the Phoenix Collegiate Academy, participation in Magellan’s “My Life” Festival, Global Youth Service Day, and a building project with Habitat for Humanity.
