A dozen teenage girls work delicately with bright strands of yarn, weaving in and out of a handheld loom under the watchful eyes of volunteers. In a different space, on another night, kids press keys — some hesitantly, others vigorously — on separate pianos, filling the room with melodies that sonically clash but play in unison.
These kids, ranging from ages 10 to 18, are from foster care homes, juvenile detention and other youth residential facilities — places and situations where they can be in constant survival mode.
Even if kids are safer in custody, the disconnect from their families and stable placement traumatizes them. It can rob their brains of the foundation they need to develop. The foster care to homelessness or prison pipeline is “pretty slick,” as Lisa Paine describes it…