On average Arts Street serves over 180 unique young adults, ages 14-24, over 7,000 contact hours each year, with 97% self-reporting as low income and 94% 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 Corona Insights 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 2024 providing innovative opportunities for 189 unique youth through our creative industry academies, internship, and mentorship programs. Our youth identify as 94% BIPOC and 97% low-income with many residents from our affiliate organization, Denver Housing Authority.
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• Our creative industry academies served 193 youth with a 95% completion rate and 100% 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. 97% said Arts Street helped them to improve their computer/ digital skills and 94% said they were better at solving problems.
• 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 community garden murals and in Westwood and a chalk arts festival, graphic design, photography, and collage for our clients.
•Our internship program worked with 23 young adults who earned stipends while they created outstanding commissions for our clients including interactive animation for the Denver Downtown Clocktower and Stickers for Steamboat Ski Resort. 97% of our interns completed their internships and 100% showed an increase in industry skills. One intern said, "Before I came here an art career seemed impossible, but now I know there are so many options."
•Our mental wellness programming thrived with all youth participating in mental wellness workshops, and many working 1:1 with our in-house counselor, Tamika Thomas or Diana Frances and with our Youth Advisor, Destini Montez. Arts Street’s Mentorship & Mental Wellness Program provides a safe space where youth can continue to build their creative skills, receive mental wellness services, find their own passions, and pursue further education. Youth are encouraged to explore new creative tech and to use alternative materials to create marketable art pieces that can be sold through our EntrepreMURALship program. These products can be found for sale at YEA’s social enterprises the Osage Café & Mercado and Decatur Fresh marketplace.
• 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. In 2024, our projects highlight this work led by these outstanding creatives; Adama Bamba, Jess Early, Juan Fuentes, 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.
• 97% 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:
• 100% 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, 86% said they gained a new artistic skill.
• 3 months post program, 99% of high school students stayed in school or graduated.
Social and Emotional Skills:
• 97% of participants said that because of Arts Street they feel better about their future.
• 99% of participants said they learned they can do things they didn't think they could do before.
• 93% of participants said that Arts Street helped them have more respect for young people of other cultures, races, and ethnic groups.
• 99% of participants said they feel staff care about them.
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