With support from the California Arts Council, Koreatown Youth and Community Center, Inc. (KYCC) will use the arts to teach high school students and older adults to investigate cultural lifeways, culinary foodways, racial, economic and health inequities in our community through our intergenerational, multilingual and multiethnic Koreatown Storytelling Program (KSP). In 2023-2024, KSP will explore the LGBTQIA+ community in Los Angeles’ Koreatown. We will record our multiethnic and multilingual LGBTQIA+ older adults on their life experiences – their home countries, cultural traditions, childhood, faith, family, immigration and coming out narratives, intersectionality, discrimination, and milestones and celebrations. Our ten-month curriculum includes in-depth workshops on oral history and ethnographic techniques, a historical overview of the community, interview skills, technology how-tos, traditional arts, foodmaking and innovative programming around culture, traditions, immigrant enclaves and civil rights.
KYCC’s core programs include: (1) Youth Services provides academic assistance, leadership development, mentoring, and enrichment for children from K-12th grade. (2) Kids Town Preschool provides early childhood education for young children. (3) Clinical Services provides comprehensive mental health services for children, youth and their family, including individual and family therapy, child abuse prevention and intervention, and parent education. (4) Prevention Education reduces substance abuse and advocates for a safe and healthy community. (5) Recovery Services provides outpatient substance use disorder treatment services, including individual, group and family counseling; case management; and recovery support services to youth aged 12 to adult. (6) Community Economic Development provides financial case management and education for low-income families to attain financial stability. (7) Housing Services provides Rapid Re-housing services, tenant case management services, and includes 390 units of affordable housing. (8) Environmental Services focuses on community beautification to improve quality of life. (9) Enhanced Care Management Services provides intensive, whole-person centered case management to improve outcomes of children and adults enrolled in Medi-Cal who are facing complex medical and psychosocial challenges.
KYCC began our Intergenerational Initiative in 2017 to promote greater understanding and respect between generations. We unite multiple generations to address the multiple needs of our participants and families. Our approach spans generations, with ages ranging from preschool children to older adults. As part of our Intergenerational Initiative, Koreatown KSP was launched as a pilot program in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, when our limited-income older adult community was further isolated and at higher risk. Since then, KSP has implemented different cohorts with different themes each year.

