At Youth in Focus, we like to say:We are the people who put cameras in the hands of at-risk youth and teach them how to develop negatives into positives.Nobody has as much fun creating a safe community of trust and support for youth through photography better than we do.Our impact is empowering youth to find their voice and gain self-confidence, as they learn life skills and discover who they are, and what matters to them.HOW WE DO IT:We offer youth development photography classes in both Digital Photography and traditional Black and White Darkroom Photography throughout the year in 8 week quarters to youth ages 13-19.WHY WE DO IT:We work with youth who face a variety of challenges in their lives on a daily basis, and who struggle with a combination of racial or ethnic discrimination, poverty or homophobia.At Youth in Focus, we reach at-risk youth at a crucial time – at or before the 9th grade – when 90% of youth that drop out do so at this time. Studies have found that the majority of kids who drop out of high school do so because of financial pressures, or because they do not believe they can be successful. High school students living in low-income families drop out of school six times the rate of peers from high-income families, and nearly half of all drop outs, ages 16-24, are unemployed. It has been estimated that each year’s class of dropouts will cost the country over $200B during their lifetimes, due to lost earnings, public welfare and crime.In 2016:67% of our students qualify for the free/reduced lunch program62% are students of color53% of students live with a single parent or have other arrangements44% are LGBQ and 11% are non-gender conformingIn our 22 years, Youth in Focus has had more than 3,600 youth go through our youth development photography program empowered to share their story through a camera lens.

2100 24th Ave S, Suite 310 Seattle WA 98144

At Youth in Focus, we like to say:We are the people who put cameras in the hands of at-risk youth and teach them how to develop negatives into positives.Nobody has as much fun creating a safe community of trust and support for youth through photography better than we do.Our impact is empowering youth to find their voice and gain self-confidence, as they learn life skills and discover who they are, and what matters to them.HOW WE DO IT:We offer youth development photography classes in both Digital Photography and traditional Black and White Darkroom Photography throughout the year in 8 week quarters to youth ages 13-19.WHY WE DO IT:We work with youth who face a variety of challenges in their lives on a daily basis, and who struggle with a combination of racial or ethnic discrimination, poverty or homophobia.At Youth in Focus, we reach at-risk youth at a crucial time – at or before the 9th grade – when 90% of youth that drop out do so at this time. Studies have found that the majority of kids who drop out of high school do so because of financial pressures, or because they do not believe they can be successful. High school students living in low-income families drop out of school six times the rate of peers from high-income families, and nearly half of all drop outs, ages 16-24, are unemployed. It has been estimated that each year’s class of dropouts will cost the country over $200B during their lifetimes, due to lost earnings, public welfare and crime.In 2016:67% of our students qualify for the free/reduced lunch program62% are students of color53% of students live with a single parent or have other arrangements44% are LGBQ and 11% are non-gender conformingIn our 22 years, Youth in Focus has had more than 3,600 youth go through our youth development photography program empowered to share their story through a camera lens.

2100 24th Ave S, Suite 310 Seattle WA 98144