Our office has been located in the Rainier Valley, Washington's most ethnically diverse legislative district for seven years, and we serve youth from all over south Seattle. Over 80% of our students are young people of color, with the majority coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Youth in Focus has always been committed to serving teens ages 13-19 with limited opportunities or facing difficult challenges, such as poverty, racism, homophobia, limited English language skills, depression, substance abuse and poor achievement in school.Every child deserves the chance to be creative. Photography is an ideal tool to engage and inspire young people who are struggling in their lives. Students are encouraged by the tangible results they quickly achieve in darkroom classes. The nature of photography uniquely combines instant gratification with the potential to endlessly rework an image to perfection. Our goal is not merely to train our students as photographers but to prepare them for successful lives. We do this by teaching them transferable skills and engaging them with a network of caring adults.

Arts & Culture , Arts Education , Children & Youth , Youth Development

We put cameras in the hands of low income, at-risk youth and place them in a challenging environment surrounded by high quality talented teachers, nurturing adult volunteer mentors, and create a strong community of support. Through photography our students find their voice, identity, creativity, and gain new confidence in their worth and abilities.