| Where We Are |
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Children and youth in Lynn face many challenges to growing into self-sufficient, successful adults. Rates of substance abuse and crime in Lynn are among the highest in Massachusetts. The high school dropout rate here is double the state average and Lynn has one of the ten highest teen birth rates in Massachusetts. There are few resources to help young people deal with these challenges. Only nine counselors are available to serve 15,200 students in the Lynn public schools. What is
great about Lynn is our diversity. The community is largely Latino,
Cambodian, and African American, and has a growing Russian population.
In 1994, Economic Development of Lynn supported RAW Space by leasing
us a floor of its Central Square building. When our landlord, Peter
Deveau, saw that kids were packing into the building and found out that
we had waiting lists for each of our afterschool programs, With the expansion of RAW Space, our programming has become more diversified. In the past 3 years, we have launched a state-of-the-art film school, created single-sex art groups for teenaged boys and girls, and started a college and career support program for high school juniors and seniors. We now offer a total of 20 arts programs, serving over 600 kids each year. Parking: Directions
to RAW: |
RAW is located in Lynn, a small coastal city nine miles north of Boston.
Once a manufacturing center, Lynn was left economically bereft when its factories,
like many in New England, closed or moved abroad.
In Lynn, 22% of families with
children live below the poverty line, over twice the state average. Lynn's unemployment
rate is consistently well over the state average.
he
offered to let us expand into another floor of the building. Ten years
later we continue to make our home in the same Central Square building.
Yay Peter!