In South Boston, Massachusetts, young people have opportunities to express themselves through the arts and engage in service to others. The Institute for a Healthier Community is a local organization that responded to teens in the community who voiced a need for art programs to support creative expression.
In 2005, the Institute partnered with South Boston Arts Association and began a street arts project at the suggestion of Dan McCole, a local artist. For this project, known as the Lighthouse Project, youth were given large pieces of plywood to use as a canvas and paint as they wished. The plywood was shaped like a simple lighthouse, and when completed, the paintings were displayed on light posts throughout the community.
Youth participants ranged from young people already involved with the Institute as Youth Ambassadors to others who heard by word of mouth or saw a newspaper advertisement inviting anyone from the community to be involved. The Institute also went to schools and other community groups to advertise the project. All youth were asked to bring a sketch of what they wanted to paint on their lighthouse, and the Institute partnered with Artists for Humanity, another local arts organization, which provided a workspace and mentored the youth in painting, discussed ideas, and helped them sketch their ideas on the wood.
Over two years, 160 lighthouses were painted, and they continue to be displayed on light posts throughout the community from July through September each year. Every year they are unveiled and displayed together, and then moved throughout the summer to different light posts in South Boston.
Last year, the group painted Adirondack chairs in a similar manner and then displayed them at community events. The chairs were recently auctioned at a garden party planned and hosted by the youth. This year, youth will be painting recycled wooden chairs donated by community members, and umbrellas, which they plan to display in a community street festival parade in September.
The response to the community art projects has been tremendous. Adults have participated and volunteered, elected officials have attended events and been extremely supportive, and the young people have showed a sense of pride in their work and connection to their community, and met peers that they might not have gotten to know otherwise.
The Institute for a Healthier Community operates under the umbrella of the South Boston Community Health Center. The Developmental Assets framework underlies all of the work of the Institute. The principles of their programming tie in with the asset model, and the assets are used in their program evaluation. The Institute works closely with nonprofits, the chamber of commerce, and arts organizations.
The projects they are involved with vary greatly, but the Institute generally uses art as a way to connect people and as a vehicle to get their messages out to the community. The Youth Ambassadors have hosted a Community Day, there has been a media campaign to improve the perceptions people have of teens in the community, and 19 youth recently traveled to Mississippi to help communities affected by Hurricane Katrina. 
For more information on the Institute for a Healthier Community and their work with youth and the arts in South Boston, contact Mayra Rodriguez-Howard at mahoward@sbchc.org or Linda Doran at lidoran@sbchc.org.
For more information on South Boston Arts Association and Artists for Humanity, visit their websites at www.southbostonartsassoc.org and www.afhboston.com/indexb.html.
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