California Lawyers for the Arts Launches Designing Creative Futures Program for Formerly Incarcerated Residents
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, October 17, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- —California Lawyers for the Arts (CLA) is helping formerly incarcerated Los Angeles County residents build their futures through Designing Creative Futures (DCF), a job training program that places them in paid four-month internships with arts organizations. With the support of a new state contract, CLA is expanding the program statewide to serve 50 persons each year for three years.
The DCF program offers unique opportunities for returning residents to work closely with arts organizations through paid, part-time internships. Participants are learning a variety of skills associated with careers in the arts and being mentored by community arts leaders.
“I am excited that California Lawyers for the Arts is expanding the Designing Creative Futures program as a result of funding that I enthusiastically supported in this year’s state budget,” said State Senator Ben Allen, who chairs the Legislative Joint Committee on the Arts. “This program builds upon CLA’s history of developing successful arts-in-corrections programs that deliver job skills, purpose, and hope to formerly incarcerated people, thereby reducing recidivism and helping people put their lives together in meaningful ways.”
CLA has begun placing participants with collaborating organizations based on the participants’ interests and the organizations’ needs. Organizations that are participating as work sites include Jail Guitar Doors, The Actors’ Gang, 18th Street Arts Center, Self Help Graphics & Art, The Robey Theatre Company and Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural.
Over the span of four months, participants have the opportunity to engage in a range of careers―from arts education to technical roles and nonprofit arts administration. Throughout the internship period, participants also receive guidance from an education/career counselor to assist in securing additional employment or further educational opportunities. The interns also participate in monthly job readiness, professional development, communication skills, and conflict resolution workshops provided by California Lawyers for the Arts.
"From advocating for arts inside our state's correctional institutions, to providing job experience in the arts after incarceration, CLA has been a leader in supporting our most disadvantaged people through the arts," Alma Robinson, Executive Director of California Lawyers for the Arts, said, when describing CLA’s role. "We are excited to put our years of experience with workforce development programs, as well as our solid relationships with diverse arts organizations throughout California, to use in raising the self-worth and productivity of persons who were incarcerated in our penal system."
Applications can be completed online or downloaded from calawyersforthearts.org and are being reviewed on an ongoing, rolling basis. Basic eligibility requirements are:
· Ages 18+
· Reside in California
· Formerly incarcerated, released within the past three years
· Interest in the arts*
· Ability to commit to a four-month internship
· Documented proof of COVID-19 vaccination
* Previous participation in Arts in Corrections programs preferred
In addition to CLA’s state contract through the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Designing Creative Futures program is funded by grants from the Our Town and Locals programs of the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the County of San Diego, the Conrad Prebys Foundation, and the Art for Justice Fund, a sponsored project of the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
For more information, visit calawyersforthearts.org or contact Mike Mena at 310-913-0625 or mike@ileanainternational.com.
About California Lawyers for the Arts:
California Lawyers for the Arts (CLA) empowers the creative community by providing education, representation, dispute resolution, advocacy for the arts and justice reform initiatives. In addition, CLA aims to be a model arts organization, focusing on innovation and collaboration, while providing statewide and national leadership in the field of art/law organizations and articulating a role for the arts in community development.
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The DCF program offers unique opportunities for returning residents to work closely with arts organizations through paid, part-time internships. Participants are learning a variety of skills associated with careers in the arts and being mentored by community arts leaders.
“I am excited that California Lawyers for the Arts is expanding the Designing Creative Futures program as a result of funding that I enthusiastically supported in this year’s state budget,” said State Senator Ben Allen, who chairs the Legislative Joint Committee on the Arts. “This program builds upon CLA’s history of developing successful arts-in-corrections programs that deliver job skills, purpose, and hope to formerly incarcerated people, thereby reducing recidivism and helping people put their lives together in meaningful ways.”
CLA has begun placing participants with collaborating organizations based on the participants’ interests and the organizations’ needs. Organizations that are participating as work sites include Jail Guitar Doors, The Actors’ Gang, 18th Street Arts Center, Self Help Graphics & Art, The Robey Theatre Company and Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural.
Over the span of four months, participants have the opportunity to engage in a range of careers―from arts education to technical roles and nonprofit arts administration. Throughout the internship period, participants also receive guidance from an education/career counselor to assist in securing additional employment or further educational opportunities. The interns also participate in monthly job readiness, professional development, communication skills, and conflict resolution workshops provided by California Lawyers for the Arts.
"From advocating for arts inside our state's correctional institutions, to providing job experience in the arts after incarceration, CLA has been a leader in supporting our most disadvantaged people through the arts," Alma Robinson, Executive Director of California Lawyers for the Arts, said, when describing CLA’s role. "We are excited to put our years of experience with workforce development programs, as well as our solid relationships with diverse arts organizations throughout California, to use in raising the self-worth and productivity of persons who were incarcerated in our penal system."
Applications can be completed online or downloaded from calawyersforthearts.org and are being reviewed on an ongoing, rolling basis. Basic eligibility requirements are:
· Ages 18+
· Reside in California
· Formerly incarcerated, released within the past three years
· Interest in the arts*
· Ability to commit to a four-month internship
· Documented proof of COVID-19 vaccination
* Previous participation in Arts in Corrections programs preferred
In addition to CLA’s state contract through the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Designing Creative Futures program is funded by grants from the Our Town and Locals programs of the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the County of San Diego, the Conrad Prebys Foundation, and the Art for Justice Fund, a sponsored project of the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
For more information, visit calawyersforthearts.org or contact Mike Mena at 310-913-0625 or mike@ileanainternational.com.
About California Lawyers for the Arts:
California Lawyers for the Arts (CLA) empowers the creative community by providing education, representation, dispute resolution, advocacy for the arts and justice reform initiatives. In addition, CLA aims to be a model arts organization, focusing on innovation and collaboration, while providing statewide and national leadership in the field of art/law organizations and articulating a role for the arts in community development.
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Mike Mena
California Lawyers for the Arts
+1 310-913-0625
email us here
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