Meztli Projects’ ELA Youth Healing Arts & Culture Initiative (YHACI) is a unique project between youth, artists and cultural workers from East Los Angeles who have been impacted by street violence and incarceration, developed to specifically center impacted youth by building a framework for participation, decision-making, apprenticeship and entrepreneurship.
The suite of programs which include the Youth Art & Activism Workshop Series, Xochipilli Program, Healing Conversations, and Apprenticeship & Youth Advisory Committee are designed to create a pathway for youth in various career tracks such as art, arts education, community organizing and culturally-based approaches to racial and economic justice efforts. These programs are for youth ages 11-18 impacted by incarceration, school suspension and expulsion, migration and gender constructs, attending Garfield and Torres High Schools, Ramona Convent Secondary School, Belvedere and Griffith Middle Schools, Monterey and Hombres y Mujeres Nobles continuation schools located in greater East Los Angeles. Meztli will expand their project from a summer program to a year-round suite of interlocking programs growing the number of youth served.
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"The work being done by Meztli Projects to build programming that aims to cater and build connections & networks for targeted youth is very necessary. After witnessing how the justice system is commonly used as the only solution (while still creating more harm), I recognize the need for access to empowering practices in underserved communities such as mine."
Gabriella Claro, Youth Apprentice
"Funding opportunities to support Indigenous/Native identified youth through Indigenous-based and culturally relevant strategies are extremely rare, especially. Ready 2 Rise provides critical funding to use Indigenous and Arts-based Practices for a holistic approach to Youth Development. Meztli Projects’ programs will assist youth by hiring and training them (Artist/Educator/Entrepreneur) as-well-as providing year-round arts programming in East LA."
Joel Garcia - Executive Director