Healing Through Poetry: Community Care and Creative Expression in Los Angeles

Adult literacy

Central LA East LA South LA West LA County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit) City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

In Los Angeles County, many BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ youth and adults face significant barriers to accessing culturally affirming, affordable mental health support. Traditional systems are overburdened, often clinical in nature, and rarely reflect the lived experiences of marginalized communities. This contributes to widespread emotional isolation, internalized trauma, and a lack of safe, expressive outlets. Creative, community-rooted spaces that honor cultural identity and lived experiences are too often overlooked as legitimate forms of healing. We seek to address this gap by centering storytelling, emotional literacy, and collective healing, offering spaces where art becomes a tool for connection, validation, transformation, and wellness.

This grant will support Da Poetry Lounge Co. in sustaining and expanding our two core programs: weekly open mic nights and our workshop and mentorship series. As the longest-running weekly open mic in the country, DPL provides a consistent, welcoming space for community members to share stories, process emotions, and build connections through spoken word.
To deepen this impact, we are launching a new featured artist-in-residence program. Each month, we will engage a resident poet, often an educator or cultural worker, to headline a selected open mic and lead a free community workshop before the open mic event focused on emotional literacy, performance, and trauma-informed creative expression. These artists reflect the lived experience of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities we serve and offer culturally rooted models of healing and empowerment.

This grant will allow us to fairly compensate resident artists while keeping all events accessible through our “Donate or Pay What You Can” model. We will prioritize outreach to youth and emerging artists, particularly in South and Central L.A., through partnerships with local schools and organizations. 

If our work is successful, Los Angeles will be home to more connected, expressive, and emotionally resilient communities. BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ residents will have increased access to consistent, culturally grounded spaces for healing, creativity, and belonging. Local artists and poets will be recognized and compensated as vital contributors to community wellness. More people will feel seen, heard, and supported in their full humanity. Poetry will be embraced as art and a powerful tool for healing and community care.