Faces of Homeless Youth 2008
Opening for the Installation: June 20, 2008 10:00 a.m.
(at the Willa Gill Center, 645 Nebraska Ave., KC, KS 66101)

When we think of the Homeless, we often envision a tattered older man holding a sign by the off ramp of a highway. The reality is far different. The average age of a homeless person in Kansas City, Kansas is 7 years old. In order to bring this story to a broader public audience, Chameleon Arts and Youth Development has undertaken the ongoing community arts project, Faces of Homeless Youth. The goal of this project is to increase the self worth and self image of homeless teens in Kansas City, Kansas, while enhancing public understanding of the impact of homelessness on children and youth.

Working in collaboration, the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools Homeless Liaison Staci Pratt and community artist and Kansas City Art Institute Professor Hugh Merrill have guided a group of homeless teenagers living and going to school in Wyandotte County in creating journals, arts and performance projects over the past 9 months. This work has led to the production of a series of posters and large-scale graphic images of the youth scheduled for installation at the Willa Gill Resource Center, in Kansas City, Kansas on June 20, 2008. The images are meant to help people connect with the reality of homelessness while providing the children with the skills to develop a coherent and insightful artistic voice, to support their academic ability, and to build self-esteem and community. Collaborators anticipate exhibiting the project in Washington, DC in the fall of 2008, during the National Conference for the National Association of Educators for Homeless Children and Youth.