YouthMAP is a collaboration of arts, computer, and other community based organizations dedicated to providing expressive arts and computer based instruction to underserved 8-17 year-olds not only near the primary service location in the South of Market and the Tenderloin, but also citywide.

The groups have support the program through service delivery, referrals, and/or resource sharing have included the Downtown YMCA Youth Chance High School, Oasis, the Downtown YMCA's Bessie Carmichael After School Program, CompuMentor, American Conservatory Theater, A Home Away from Homelessness, the Bay AREA Video Coalition, Chanticleer, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, Coleman Advocates for Youth, Enterprise for High School Students, the Global Education Partnership, Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center, Mercy Charities Housing, Ohlhoff Recovery Programs, Riple Effects, the San Francisco Unified School District, DRI International, the Department of Recreation and Parks, YouthCARES, the Youth Employment Coalition, Youth Leadership Institute, and Zeum.

Since its inception in 1998, YouthMAP has offered a variety of arts programming, academic support, counseling and referrals, and vocational training to over 600 unduplicated youth participants, ages 8-17, from throughout the City.

The primary components of YouthMAP's curriculum have included on and off-site acting classes administered by the American Conservatory Theater; introductory music training/appreciation conducted by musicians from the City of Refuge Church and Chanticleer; vocational and entrepreneurial activities under the guidance of Youth Chance High School, Enterprise for High School Students, and the Global Education Partnership, self defense/martial arts classes with Progressive Martial Arts, and a wide range of computer technology-enhanced youth development programming ranging from technical hardware/software issues to high end multi-media, graphics and web applications.

The overall purpose of YouthMap is to reach out to youth who either do not have access to -- or are not accessing -- existing school and/or community based extracurricular activities. The specific desired outcomes of combining expressive and technological arts as the core of the program curriculum are three-fold: 1) to provide a safe, attractive and challenging alternative space where youth would want to go after school and during the summer; 2) to use an arts-oriented curriculum to enhance youth's self esteem, creative capacities, critical thinking, interpersonal communications skills, and cross-cultural sensitivities; 3) and, finally, to channel these first two goals into effective vocational and leadership development services which would better prepare youth for meaningful job opportunities in an increasingly demanding work force while making them more aware, responsible, self-sufficient and influential members of their respective communities.