On average Arts Street serves over 170 unique young adults, ages 14-24, over 7,000 contact hours each year, with 97% self-reporting as low income and 89% reporting BIPOC. Youth are primarily referred to programing through community partners including Denver Housing Authority, Denver Public School Career Connect and Colorado High School Charter and come from underrepresented and marginalized communities.
Evaluations: Throughout our programing we utilize multiple evaluations tools to assure that we are providing the best training and social emotional opportunities to each participant. Our main evaluation results come from a survey tool created by the National Research Center (NRC) for the Colorado Alliance for Creative Youth Development. All Arts Street participants complete this survey at the end of programming, and it is submitted anonymously. In addition, we measure long-term impact at 3-months post program completion, around education and employment outcomes.
However, we believe our biggest impact can’t be measured with statistics but is from the words of some of our participants.
“Arts Street helped me understand who I am as a person.”
“I love the opportunities they provide. Arts Street has helped me grow in almost every way possible: artistically, mentally, and financially. I now feel more confident in myself and my skills.”
“What I like best about coming to Arts Street is being able to be creative and express myself through the projects we do.”
“[What I like about coming to Arts Street is] Being able to create great memories as well as having the creative freedom to work on many types of mediums and having a safe space to come when things at home are rough.”
Impact:
Arts Street@Youth Employment Academy had an outstanding year in 2023 providing innovative opportunities for 174 unique youth through our creative industry academies, internship, and mentorship programs. Our youth identify as 89% BIPOC and 97% low-income with many residents from our affiliate organization, Denver Housing Authority.
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• Our creative industry academies served 183 youth with a 96% completion rate and 94% demonstrating an increase in industry skills. We partnered with Denver Public School Colorado High School Charter Osage where youth explored their identities and learned skills in photography and digital design, while they earned credit towards graduation. 94% said they experienced an increase in understanding of their identity because of Arts Street.
• Our summer academies worked with over 60 youth who learned about community issues in urban farming, affordable housing, and mental wellness. They focused on large-scale public art projects including traditional murals and in the La Alma and Sun Valley neighborhoods, graphic design, photography, and textile art for our clients.
•Our internship program worked with 25 young adults who earned stipends while they created outstanding commissions for our clients including interactive public art for La Alma Park and traditional murals for inside Denver Housing Authority community buildings. 100% of our interns completed their internships and showed an increase in industry skills.
•Our mental wellness programming continues to grow with all youth participating in mental wellness workshops, and many working 1:1 with our in-house counselor, Tamika Thomas and with our Youth Advisor, Destini Montez. They received support in reaching their education, employment, and mental wellness goals, including 95% of our high school students who stayed in school or graduated and 100% said they feel better about themselves because of coming to Arts Street.
• Arts Street is also privileged to work with so many amazing Denver artists who teach their skills and mentor our young artists individually and in community. Our projects highlight this work led by these outstanding creatives; Katy Casper, Jess Early, Melody Epperson, Juan Fuentes, Anthony Garcia, Sr., Chelsea Romaniello, Devin Urioste and Jasmine Wynter. “Staff fostered a space that makes participants happy to come in.” Arts Street Participant​
Real-World Experience:
• 100% of our youth artists completed the client projects.
• 100% of participants said that coming to Arts Street helped them understand the importance of arriving to appointments and work on time.
Creative Industry & Academic Skills:
• 94% of students improved their industry skills with many learning totally new software that will be useful in the creative industry and in schoolwork.
• Based on self-evaluation results, 97% said they gained a new artistic skill.
Social and Emotional Skills:
• 86% of participants said that because of Arts Street they are better at taking responsibility for their actions.
• 86% of participants said they learned they can do things they didn't think they could do before.
• 97% of participants said that Arts Street helped them have more respect for young people of other cultures, races, and ethnic groups.
• 100% of participants said they feel staff care about them.
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