Sheriff's Youth Foundation

The Sheriff's Youth Foundation operates 16 Youth Academies across Los Angeles County — and every one represents a safe haven. For some kids, the local Youth Academy is a place to get some much-needed help with homework. For others, it’s a place to shoot some hoops or learn a new sport without fear of physical violence or becoming tangled up in many of the other negative distractions the streets have to offer. For others, it’s literally a place to call home.

The Youth Academies operate during the most crucial hours of the day, from 3 to 7 p.m., a time when many parents are not yet home from work and there’s much trouble to be found on the streets.The Youth Academies are available to youths ages 7 to 17, and there is no fee to participate. The facilities are staffed by a blend of deputies, civilian staff and untold dozens of volunteers who just want to help.

Each of the 16 Youth Academies are unique in their own way, and they serve a diverse array of communities. And they serve youths whose needs and experiences are equally diverse. Yet, there are common threads among them all: A Youth Academy is a place that provides fun and healthy things to do; it provides academic help; it provides guidance during times of need — and it provides direction, motivation and hope for a positive future in situations that may otherwise seem bleak. And, it provides acceptance.

The Youth Academies help our county’s youths in so many ways, changing their lives for the better — enabling them to beat the odds that circumstance has stacked against them.

The results show up in the form of teenagers who have found direction in their lives, and are setting goals to help them realize their dreams and become happy, healthy adults.