Destiny Arts About US - History Page

DESTINY (De-Escalation Skills Training Inspiring Nonviolence in Youth) Arts Center exists to end isolation, prejudice and violence in the lives of young people.

We Accomplish Our Mission By...

· Offering skills training to youth, ages 3-18, in after-school, weekend and summer programs in performing and martial arts, youth leadership, and violence prevention at our main site, and in outreach programs at local schools and community centers.

· Providing youth with caring adult mentors.

· Supporting youth in developing an individualized sense of artistic expression.

· Giving youth opportunities to share a message of peace and empowerment through performances, events, and workshops.

· Nurturing the physical, emotional and spiritual development of young people.

When Destiny has succeeded in its work, young people will value themselves and others - ever mindful of the ways their words, actions, and attitudes affect their communities, as well as the world. They will: respond rather than react to situations; teach and practice love rather than violence; honor people from different backgrounds and experiences equally; and, be connected to, and active participants in, the life of their communities.

We value...

· The principles of love, respect, care, responsibility, honor, and peace as embodied in Destiny’s Warrior’s Code.

· Being able to provide services to youth, regardless of their families' ability to pay.

· That based on the social and political climate of today, young people experience isolation, violence, and/or prejudice in their lives.

· That when communities take active responsibility for the struggles, as well as the successes of all its young people, youth and thus communities are more likely to thrive.

We define violence broadly and thus believe that a comprehensive violence prevention program must address the complexity of violence.

We believe that violence is perpetrated physically, verbally, emotionally and sexually, and that all these types of violence affect individuals, families and communities.

We believe that all youth are in some sense “at-risk,” regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual preference or socio-economic status. And thus we believe that to be most effective in the long-term, violence prevention programs ideally bring together diverse groups of young people.

We believe young people experience or perpetrate violence for two main reasons: isolation and prejudice of all kinds, and that these factors increase feelings of despair, anger, depression, and/or aggression.

We believe that providing meaningful experiences in the performing and/or martial arts in combination with practical skill building in violence prevention (conflict resolution and self-defense) is an extremely powerful way to address issues of isolation, prejudice and violence in the lives of young people.

We believe that violence prevention training is most effective when students feel an authentic sense of community with other young people and caring, skilled adults.

We believe that violence prevention includes skill building in finding creative ways to stop the momentum from emotion to violence, and that sometimes the most courageous action is walking away from a potentially violent conflict. We also believe that young people develop confidence when they know how to defend themselves, and that that confidence often stops them from being targets of violence.

We believe that, to be most effective, programs must reach young people where and when they are most in need — in their neighborhoods and during after-school, weekend and summer hours.

Ultimately, we believe young people are their own best teachers. That’s why we develop our students as active leaders, conflict managers and advocates for nonviolence in their communities and beyond.

Destiny Arts Center serves up to 3,500 youth annually through our center-based after-school, weekend and summer programs that happen in our 4,000 square foot space in North Oakland AND in our outreach programs called Project Destiny that happen as part of in-school and after-school programs at local public schools. We serve primarily low income youth and youth of color in their own neighborhoods. Our programs are offered during critical after-school, weekend and summer hours when youth are habitually exposed to violence and destructive lifestyle choices. Destiny Arts Center functions as a forum for youth to explore, express and reshape daily challenges through physical, emotional and creative growth.

Destiny Arts Center's programs work with students to prevent violence in the following ways:

Creating a safe space for youth to practice skills and to create community
Providing quality professional instruction with caring adult mentors
Giving youth practical skills-building in violence prevention (self-defense and conflict resolution) as outlined in our Five Fingers of Violence Prevention curriculum, written by Destiny's founder, Kate Hobbs
Providing martial arts and dance classes to students at all levels
Providing intensive, rigorous dance and theater training for intermediate and advanced students. Destiny houses two dance/theater companies - the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company and the Destiny Junior Company that both utilize the Youth on the Move curriculum, written by Destiny's Artistic Director, Sarah Crowell

We document many instances of young participants who, though initially skeptical, utilized our violence prevention strategies in real-life situations, giving them tools to prevent violence and ultimately transforming them into strong and vocal advocates for nonviolence in their communities and beyond. We also document ways that involvement in the performing arts programs, especially the performance companies, increase a sense of self efficacy and esteem and prevent or stop students from being either victims or perpetrators of violence. Additionally, youth's feelings of safety and self worth add to their long-term cognitive, social, emotional and physical development, inspiring them toward long-term, effective participation in school and community.

EVALUATION TOOLS:

Youth Survey: youth at center-based and outreach programs are surveyed twice a year

Youth Survey Results for Center-Based Programs (including performance companies) - FALL 2010

Youth Survey Results for Outreach Programs - FALL 2010