Pathways From Peril : Arts programs help turn youngsters away from trouble

The White House opened its doors Friday to a throng of young Americans who have found in the arts a cultural pathway out of the temptations and dangers of their neighborhoods. Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted the reception, which marked the publication of a report entitled “Coming Up Taller.”

The document, prepared by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, profiles 218 programs in 36 states and the District of Columbia that have turned youngsters aged 3 to 18 toward exploration of the world of arts and letters. Highlighting these programs, the president’s committee hopes, will encourage public and private funding for them in a time of diminishing support for the arts.

An example is a Los Angeles program called “City Hearts: Kids Say Yes to the Arts.” Sherry Jason, a ballerina-turned-defense-attorney, and her husband, Bob, a public defender, run a 12-week workshop for youths sentenced to service by the Los Angeles Juvenile Court. The offenders receive credit for participating and pick up some valuable lessons as well. Segments are artfully entitled “Sentenced to the Stage,” “Youth Arts Diversion” and “From Gangs to the Stage,” and in each the youngsters take part in performances or other artistic endeavors.

There’s a light jailhouse flavor to the sessions. The participants in the program refer to themselves by their criminal classification: “I am a 601” (incorrigibles and runaways).

Southern California is home to many of these programs and all of them need help to keep going. They can provide a way out of violence, substance abuse and other morally debilitating aspects of urban life. What young people need, says the report, is the right program in a safe place. The payoff is self-worth, self-discipline and a cultural outlet.

Earlier generations found release and a cultural grounding in the arts. The programs of the Depression years are an example of cultural flowering in hard times. But it won’t happen now without the intervention of people like those at City Hearts, and funds from others who want to see their communities broaden opportunities for youth.

To Take Action: Write to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Suite 526, Washington, D.C. 20506, or call (202) 682-5409.