Over the past month, we checked in with our 2024 grantees to learn how their funded programs, projects, and initiatives are progressing – and to better understand the impact they’re making across Los Angeles. Now, we are excited to share these interviews, with stories of growth, challenges, and community transformation.

Arts for Healing and Justice Network (AHJN) received funding through the LA2050 Grants Challenge from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to support its Youth Leadership Development program, a creative leadership and job readiness effort for systems-impacted youth. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation with their team.

LA2050: AHJN received funding from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation for your Youth Leadership Development (YLD) program, supporting systems-impacted and at-promise youth in Los Angeles County. What is one highlight from the program over the past six months?

Arts for Healing and Justice Network: A major milestone for the AHJN over the past six months was launching the second cohort of our capstone projects through our YLD program. These three-month culminating projects give participants, many of whom have been engaged with AHJN for years, a chance to reflect on their growth, share their creativity, and mark a meaningful transition in their journey. Building on last year’s pilot, this year’s cohort is helping strengthen AHJN’s alumni network and reinforce the program’s identity as a vibrant, ongoing community.

Between May and December 2023, 93 new young people joined AHJN’s Our True Colors (OTC) weekly peer support group for formerly incarcerated youth. This growth, largely through word-of-mouth, reflects the program’s strong reputation as a trusted, healing space. To meet growing demand, we expanded our team with a new Youth and Community Manager and Youth Leadership Coordinator, ensuring the organization is well-positioned to support continued engagement.

A standout experience this year was a trip to Alabama. This was an opportunity for young people to travel outside of Los Angeles, many for the first time. The trip blended historical education, artmaking, and healing, and served as a powerful moment of connection and empowerment for participants. We also expanded our partner network, launching a fellowship with White Hall Arts Academy and continuing collaborations with Hauser & Wirth, with plans underway for a culinary fellowship. These partnerships reflect AHJN’s commitment to broadening opportunities for systems-impacted youth through the arts and beyond.

LA2050: In your LA2050 Grants Challenge application, you wrote: “Our approach serves as a model for community-based alternatives to the juvenile justice system.” Tell us more about this vision, and how you’re making it a reality through YLD.

Arts for Healing and Justice Network: At AHJN, we’re building community through the arts, which we view as a preventative measure. A lot of our young people are artists or have some level of interest in art, and what Our True Colors (OTC) does well is connect them to member or partner organizations where they can do what they love, and get paid for it. This is a version of diversion. Trust is the vehicle for change, and OTC happening consistently every week allows that trust to build. Once trust is there, the sky’s the limit. Young people begin to heal from trauma, share things they might not even tell close friends or family and access resources without needing to be in crisis or under punishment from the system.

The beauty of OTC is that we’re here all year long, when a young person is in crisis and when they’re not. You don’t need to get in trouble for us to show up. That’s why we see this as a true community-based model and an alternative to the juvenile justice system. We’re hiring credible messengers, people who’ve been through the system themselves and they’re coming back to say, “Take advantage of this opportunity. If only I had this when I was your age.” These are the folks with the answers, bringing more youth into the space and showing what’s possible.

We use art as a catalyst to heal trauma, keep young people engaged, and make sure they’re compensated for their time and contributions. That financial support can be a powerful motivator, but it’s the community, care, and consistent presence that keeps them coming back. It’s a way of saying, “If I can do something I love, be supported, and have folks who care about me, I don’t need to be punished or caged.”

We know we can’t do this work alone. That’s why we’re a network. We rely on our member organizations, advocacy partners, and system allies to help create the change we want to see. We’ve stayed in touch with young people for three or four years, and some are now parents bringing their own kids to programming. That’s how we interrupt intergenerational harm.

We want young people to know they’re not disposable. We’re here for them, even if they’ve been gone for a year, they’re always welcome to come back. We’re building a community they can always turn to, no matter what. That’s the vision.

LA2050: What do you hope to achieve in the final six months of the grant, and how can the broader LA2050 community support?

Arts for Healing and Justice Network: In the final six months of the grant period, we hope to deepen our impact by continuing to push for youth employment and expanding awareness about youth incarceration in Los Angeles County. One core goal is getting more young people employed, not just in any job, but in roles that align with their passions and long-term growth. Many of the youth in AHJN’s network are deeply committed to fellowships and internships that offer meaningful experience, and the organization is seeing those experiences evolve into careers, with young people becoming teaching artists and mentors themselves. Sustaining and scaling this momentum requires broader community investment.

AHJN invites the LA2050 community to support this effort by donating not only to AHJN but also our partner organizations that provide paid opportunities and crucial mentorship. Employment for system-impacted youth is a community issue, and supporting this network ensures these young people can thrive.

We also encourage individuals to get informed and involved in the movement to end youth incarceration. That includes attending Board of Supervisors or Probation Oversight Commission meetings, joining community mobilizations, and hearing directly from the young people and organizations doing the work.

The vision of a Los Angeles that truly leads on decarceration is within reach, but it will take more people stepping into the work, listening, learning, and showing up.

Interview Participants:

Elida Ledesma, Executive Director

Julian Harris, Director of Youth Leadership