Youth Speak’s mission is to empower low-income, at-risk youth and their families with the skills necessary to pursue higher education and create strong communities. The organization’s name stems from its commitment to providing youth with the opportunity to ‘speak’ – to be vocal and empowered, helping develop the very programs they participate in, programs that improve the health of their neighborhoods.
Youth Speak Collective offers the youth of High Schools and Middle Schools in the San Fernando Valley programs as creative outlets to express themselves and highlight issues they find important in their communities and schools.
One of their programs is in Digital Arts which works with youth from the community to create film based projects as well as learning the systems and techniques that are involved.
The Digital Arts program serves as a pathway for youth to join the Youth Speaks Media Solutions team which involves students in produce high quality content for other non-profit organizations.
Below are some of the Youth Speak Collective programs:
24/7 Dad:
The 24/7 Dad program is designed to help fathers and expecting fathers, increase their knowledge of what being father really is and to help them strengthen their family ties. This four month program focuses on fathering skills, personal development, financial literacy, work readiness and communication.
Career Internship Program:
The Career Internship Program equips youth with professional work skills, interviewing skills and hands-on experience to help them expand their resume and later obtain good-paying jobs. For those students who enter the job market with only a high school degrees or less, work experience is extremely important in building a base for future advancement.
Digital Arts:
The Digital Media program teaches youth how to film, direct and edit short films. The program gives at risk youth a creative outlet to express themselves and highlight issues they find important in their communities and schools.
Youth Speak Media Solutions:
Youth Speak Media Solutions is a social enterprise that takes youth who have participated in our Digital Arts classes and pairs them with working professionals to offer non-profit organizations high quality video content at competitive rates.
To learn more and support Youth Speak Collective, check out their website www.youthspeakcollective.com
