Advot empowers youth through programs that use storytelling and artistic exploration to develop self-advocacy, communication skills, and emotional resilience. Our programs work with underserved and justice-involved youth across Los Angeles County, guiding them to express their stories and imagine new possibilities for themselves. Over the past fourteen years, our programs have impacted several thousand young lives, giving them tools not only to navigate personal challenges but also to engage with their communities as confident and effective advocates for themselves and others. Advot currently offers four programs to LA County youth:
• Listen-Act-Change uses the arts to engage teens and young adults in reflection on how even the smallest choices made in a split-second can have a lasting impact on their future. We teach that every individual has the power to make better choices. As they participate in expressive theater, visual art, music, dance, and writing exercises, Listen-Act-Change participants build skills to become their own best advocates and reach their full potential.
• Our Home Shalom program promotes healthy relationships and facilitates the creation of judgment free, safe spaces for young people in the Jewish community.
• The Franny Possibility Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance and mentoring to one or two graduates of Listen-Act-Change each year who are pursuing vocational training or higher education.
• Reimagine Mentoring, grew out of the Franny Possibility Scholarship Fund; we saw more young people coming out of juvenile detention in need of real connection and emotional support from caring individuals that know them, while they make the challenging transition out of detention and into community. Our staff of teaching artists, who have developed a trusting relationship with these young people while they were in juvenile detention, mentor them through this transition, helping them identify and set goals, plan for completing their education, and navigate relationships.