See the impact YIF has on our students

Photo by Muhamed, Youth in Focus Student Video created by Birdhouse Creative

About Us

Youth in Focus is a nationally recognized youth development program that offers a variety of photography classes, service learning opportunities and entrepreneurial projects for youth ages 13-19.

What We Do
Every child deserves the chance to be creative. Photography is an ideal tool to engage and inspire young people who are struggling in their lives. Students are encouraged by the tangible results they quickly achieve in darkroom classes. The nature of photography uniquely combines instant gratification with the potential to endlessly rework an image to perfection. Our goal is not merely to train our students as photographers, but to prepare them for successful lives. We do this by teaching them transferable skills and engaging them with a network of caring adults.

History
Youth in Focus has a proven track record in serving at-risk youth with compassion, energy and vision. Founded by Walter Bodle in 1994, we were incorporated as a non-profit in 1997. In that time, we have grown from a summer class in a borrowed darkroom to an organization offering free classes year round to students at every skill level. We have built a large base of community support for our programs and the quality of our students' work is known citywide. The move to a custom designed darkroom/gallery teaching space in December 2003 brought our organization to a new level of stability and sustainability.

Accomplishments
Youth in Focus has taught our high quality classes to over 1,400 students since our founding in 1994. The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities recognized Youth in Focus as a model program in 2000 providing "life-changing activities" to youth with limited opportunities. Our students have shown their work at the Seattle Art Museum, the Henry Art Gallery, the Frye Art Gallery, the Benham Gallery and the Washington State Convention Center among other local venues. The prestige of these locations is a testament to both to the quality of the work our students produce and their passion for the medium.

Who We Serve
Our office has been located in the Rainier Valley, Washington's most ethnically diverse legislative district for seven years. Over 80% of our students are young people of color, with the majority coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Youth in Focus has always been committed to serving teens ages 13-19 with limited opportunities or facing difficult challenges, such as poverty, racism, homophobia, limited English language skills, depression, substance abuse and poor achievement in school.