Results

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Our surveys show our results. We provide more than poetry workshops, Art from Ashes shows young people that through the power of their creative genius, all things are possible in their lives.
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Download a pdf of our 2015 evaluation results

AfA’s pre and post surveys, conducted on youth in the Phoenix Rising program since 2009, show that the workshops develop youth connections to their communities and produce in youth a deeper belief in themselves and their potential, leading to improved social and emotional skills and behavior.

In 2015, surveys demonstrated

  • a 9% increase in youth who say they try hard in school
  • a 60% increase in youth who say they are good at setting goals
  • a 209% increase in youth who say they see themselves as poets
  • a 56% increase in youth who say they believe young people can be poets
  • a 73% increase in youth who say they spend time doing poetry

AfA’s youth empowerment programs are fundamental to providing the self-value and motivation necessary for youth to take advantage of educational opportunities, job and career counseling, drug and alcohol rehab, and mental health services.

The value of the program is regularly recognized by the community it serves, as evidenced by this recent testimonial: “I can’t thank you enough…The work that you do is helping to transform our school and inspire our students more than you may know.”
— Brian Sleevi, creative writing teacher at The New America School in Thornton, Colorado.

AfA’s evaluation results are integrated into ongoing curriculum design enhancement and program implementation, improved staff training, and communication of program results to community partners and funders.

AfA’s surveys include space for personal testimonials about the program. When asked what change, if any, they saw in their life as a result of this program, youth responses included:

  • “I have creative genius in me, and people want to hear it spoken.”
  • “Art from Ashes has helped me get into writing and finding the passion that had lay within.”
  • “I see a huge change. I didn’t know I could be the creative. In a way, I didn’t know how much I have in me.
  • “I will have more faith in myself when it comes to making important decisions in life.”