the Long Beach Bar Foundation

Nonprofit uses art to keep kids on right track
February 5th, 2009

Shortstop graduate Richard Wills and his brother, student volunteer Bruce Wills, with a recently completed mural.

Since its inception in 1994 to strengthen the youth of the greater Long Beach community through juvenile crime prevention, intervention, legal education and scholarship programs, the Long Beach Bar Foundation (LBBF) has operated the Shortstop Juvenile Crime Diversion Program, which serves approximately 450 to 500 culturally and economically diverse youth and their parents each year.
Shortstop holds youth responsible for their delinquent behavior while giving at-risk youth a second chance to become productive members of the community and "stop short" of future crime. Shortstop's purpose is to reduce and prevent juvenile delinquency by diverting juvenile offenders and youth at risk of delinquency away from the juvenile justice system through legal education for the juveniles and their parents.
The Long Beach Bar Foundation partners with the Long Beach Police Department, the Long Beach Unified School District, the

     Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and families, and the Probation Department in a joint effort to make the greater Long Beach community a safer place in which to live, work, learn and play.
     In 2008 LBBF was awarded a seed grant from the Long Beach Community Foundation for the creation of an art program for Shortstop graduates. The goal is to reduce risk factors during non-school hours through the expression of art. The ArtStart Program included courses of aerosol on canvas taught by Jose Martinez at HomeLand Cultural Center and three additional courses currently being taught by local artists at Gallery Eleven Seven, 117 Linden Avenue, which recently hosted an art show displaying the creations by the ArtStart participants (the artwork will be on display through Saturday, Feb. 14.)
     The now complete ceramic mosaic tile creations will be donated to Long Beach Organic, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable organic gardening practices and local food production in an urban environment. The dedication ceremony will take place at 4pm on Feb. 14 and will be open for viewing during the hours of the 2nd Saturday Art Walk held every second Saturday.