Musicians for Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of artists, educators, and community members dedicated to providing creative, emotional, and educational support to teen mothers in urban San Diego who are at the highest risk of homelessness and incarceration due to generational effects of poverty. Our young mothers come to us from shelters, group homes, foster care, and juvenile justice facilities.

Young mothers come to us from shelters, group homes, foster care, and juvenile justice facilities. Our signature program, Street of Dreams (SOD), serves 100 teen mothers (ages 12-18) per year. SOD is an arts education college-bridge program for teen mothers who lack the credits needed to graduate from high school and qualify for college enrollment. SOD provides 1) quality arts programming, 2) academic elective credits needed to graduate high school and enroll in college, 3) a comprehensive introduction to college life, and 4) a peer mentor teaching staff of former students who are now college graduates. 100% of our students complete the program, graduate from high school, and enroll in college. They are the first college attendees in their families.

SOD uses the creative process as a healing mechanism for young mothers who have been abandoned, abused, and nearly destroyed. Students are guided to view their complicated past as their greatest artistic asset. They become “artists of their own lives “and turn trauma to art through the creation of three original artworks, a book of photography and poetry, a music video, and a public spoken word concert that expresses their experience, strength, and hope as young mothers growing up in the juvenile justice system. This process is essential for the healthy development of our students who have been socially, economically, and educationally isolated.