With support from the California Arts Council, New Directions for Youth, Inc will provide $18,000 to match pending Los Angeles City Department of Cultural Affairs grant to present Mask Making Adventures with Teaching Artist Judy Leventhal, LCSW . Twenty low income youth, ages ten to fifteen in one of the Mayor’s Office Gang Reduction and Youth Development Zones will create sculptural masks and prepare journals to build identity and multi cultural understanding through creative ability in art.
New Directions for Youth provides social services to 3,000 young people and their families annually. These services include: Counseling & Therapy which includes individual, group and family strengths-based, cognitive behavioral therapy; Youth Education & Training including career education, computer training, conflict resolution, positive decision making, youth employment, internships, and basic skills training workshops; Gang Prevention programming for Juvenile Offenders which includes academic support, recreational, ager management workshops; Programs for At-risk Youth which includes Youth development and arts programs that focus on age appropriate and specific needs and interests of youth ages of 09 – 24; Independent Living and Life Skills Education which includes financial literacy training, preparation for graduation from high school, life skills training, mentoring, career education.

