The Door, a full-service youth agency, provides a comprehensive, integrated range of services to youth, including an average of 20 classes a week after school and in the evening in dance, vocal and instrumental music, theater, painting, drawing, ceramics, photography, tie-dying, jewelry making, woodworking and airbrush design. Staff artists are supplemented by artists-in-residence who teach in exchange for rehearsal and studio space. The Creative Arts Program also includes lectures/demonstrations, master classes, trips to cultural events and institutions and student performances/exhibitions. Classes are designed to help youth develop their skills and learn about the world through art and the resources of New York City. For example, youth may go to see an exhibition and then use the theme of the exhibition for their own work. Every 2 months, one of the young artists exhibits his/her work at The Door. The participantsÌ work, which has been shown at other sites throughout the metropolitan area, has won awards in city-wide contests and has been highlighted in the press for its creativity and uniqueness. "Through the arts, participants learn about the planning process; they learn how to appraise their own strengths and weaknesses, how to get organized and how to focus in order to complete tasks," explains Eileen Bethea, coordinator of the Program. "The kids in the Creative Arts Program are motivated by the activities, and that excitement spills over into other areas of their lives."