Arts Program Helps Youth -- Young People Stay Out Of Trouble, Earn Wages Painting Public Murals

SEATTLE - Ada Szakacs always liked art.

What she didn't know was that it was an employment option for her.

Referred by an employment counselor, Szakacs, 16, joined Panels for Progress a little over a year ago.

"Art's something I have the patience for," Szakacs said. "It's nice to know that you can do things you like and still get paid for them."

The Seattle-based Panels for Progress, a city-wide, public-arts program that involves youth in the creation of murals, is noted for its degree of community support and involvement.

Originally formed to clear out graffiti, the program now spans much more. It uses the creation of public art as a tool toward promoting self-esteem, ownership and community service for youth.

"We use the arts as a vehicle for training," said Stephanie Tschida, project director. "I think of it almost as arts intervention. We deal with the possibility and potential of the youth - not their past."

Panels for Progress is the brainchild of Mike Peringer, who, while riding through the Sodo area of Seattle a few years ago, noticed the area was in serious need of cleanup.

Peringer, president of the Sodo Business Association, which represents 2,000 area businesses, realized that 15,000 bus riders daily pass through the two-mile corridor, which extends from Royal Brougham Way to South Spokane Street, and what they were seeing in 1996 was not a pretty sight.

He quickly obtained a $10,000 grant from Seattle Public Utilities and mobilized an army that ripped out weeds and picked up 300 tons of garbage. One problem remained, though - graffiti.

Peringer got a $75,000 matching grant from the Department of Neighborhoods and brought in Tschida, 49, who had 25 years experience working with youth art programs.

The Department of Youth Services, probation officers and neighborhood organizations pitched in, and an arts program was born. The first summer 500 kids participated in completing 25 murals on 17 sites.

One part of that summer stands out in everyone's minds. None of the juvenile offenders re-offended, which led to the conclusion: Keep the kids working.

By paying the participants $5.50 an hour, Peringer determined that if given an opportunity, youngsters usually will choose the legal way to earn money.

Jelani Jackson fits this profile perfectly. Jackson, 14, who attends Cleveland High School, could have gotten higher pay as a janitor, but instead chose to work for Panels for Progress.

"I now know how to work at a job I like and keep it," Jackson said.

"The beauty of the program is the kids' involvement," Peringer said. "The kids can point to things they do and take some pride."

Peringer, 64, talked about his findings with Bob Collier, vice president and senior project manager for First and Goal, the Paul Allen company that is developing the football stadium and exhibition hall.

Collier suggested an extension of the program during winter months. He said that in return Paul Allen would provide funding.

Soon after, the Paul Allen Foundation put up $20,000 and commissioned the group to do 500 panels for use around the construction site.

"They're representative of the kind of organization we like to work with," said Lee Keller, a spokeswoman for Allen.

Peringer rounded up panels from Willamette Industries, acryclic paints from discarded city leftovers and a permanent work space from the Frye Art Museum.

In February 1998, Panels for Progress opened its doors full time with a $250,000 annual budget. Today, it operates as a nonprofit organization completing projects throughout the city, including some at the Convention Center, Swedish Hospital and the Westin Hotel.

Art students and struggling artists act as mentors to the kids, 70 percent of which are at-risk youth, meaning they have been in trouble or are considered likely to get in trouble. The ratio is one mentor to every five or six kids.

Before starting a project, the kids are trained in such skills as painting, working with tools, drawing, scaffolding and managing their earnings.

Groups spend three to four weeks working on each project. A contractor commissions an idea, or the kids come up with one. The cost is based on the mentor fee and the materials required.

The kids range in age from 14 to 18, and 90 percent of them are minority. Many are recommended for the group by probation officers. It costs $4,500 to incarcerate a child for a month, but it costs Panels for Progress $1,200 each month per child for training and prevention.

While King County Department of Youth Services covers most wages, Panels for Progress still has to cover supervision and those without a sponsoring organization for 10 to 20 site projects a year.

Some participants were formerly "taggers," habitual graffiti offenders. Those who haven't joined have stayed away; 90 percent of the work done has not been touched.

"I like giving these kids a chance to learn how to do something they've never done before" Peringer said. "They get to re-create positive things in their own mind for transition into the work force."

"It's an important responsibility," Tschida added.