Youth In
Care

Our Youth in Care programs bring media arts education to young people in foster care, residential treatment, secure care facilities, and state custody, meeting them where they are.

About Our Youth In Care Programs

Spy Hop believes every young person deserves a creative voice — including those who are hardest to reach. Our Youth in Care programs bring media arts education to young people in foster care, residential treatment, secure care facilities, and state custody, meeting them where they are: at youth corrections facilities, community centers, and afterschool programs, or by welcoming them into our building in Salt Lake City.

Our programs go beyond technical skills. Using Wyman’s Teen Outreach Program (TOP), a nationally recognized evidence-based prevention model, we pair creative expression with life skills, goal setting, and community connection — helping young people navigate challenges, build relationships, and envision a different future for themselves. Every program is customized in partnership with our facility and community partners to fit the age group, goals, and needs of the youth being served.

PROGRAM OFFERINGS

Our best-known Youth in Care program is Sending Messages, a podcast produced by incarcerated youth at secure care facilities in the Salt Lake area. Since 2010, our professional teaching artists have guided incarcerated youth to write, edit, perform, and record their own poetry, spoken word, short fiction, and interviews—to publish stories that rarely get told.

The act of creating for an audience transforms the experience: young people begin to think more deeply about their choices, their futures, and the meaning of their own stories. Sending Messages has been the subject of peer-reviewed research examining how media arts education opens new possibilities for incarcerated youth, and episodes are available to listen to on iTunes and SoundCloud.

Beyond podcasting, our Youth in Care programs include filmmaking, poetry, comic books, and visual art—all adapted to be accessible regardless of literacy level, language background, or learning needs. Because every program site and population is unique, we work closely with partners to make sure our curriculum makes sense for the young people in the room.

Other community programs

Community Partnerships

Learn how Spy Hop can bring our media arts program directly to you, to help your students find their voice and tell their stories.

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Voices of the West

Immersive, week-long filmmaking workshops in rural and indigenous areas of Utah, elevating the voices and ideas of young people, and celebrating what makes their communities unique.

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Central 9th Youth Coalition

A collaborative community initiative dedicated to reducing the risk of drug use, suicide, and violence alongside Salt Lake City youth.

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POPS In-School Programs

Schedule a free assembly or in-class workshop for your school. We travel across Utah to bring media arts to students where they are.

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