First Holistic Center for Homeless Youth

The Reciprocity Foundation is currently pursuing a 5-year lease in the Fashion District to open the first-ever holistic center for homeless youth. It will be a space where youth can create original films and music, meditate and practice yoga, learn to cook vegetarian meals and to work with holistic health practitioners on healing from trauma and abuse. Once fully-funded, the center will be open 7 days a week and staffed with paid and volunteer media producers, integrative counselors, meditation and yoga teachers, business leaders, holistic health practitioners and vegetarian chefs. 

For the past 7 years, the Reciprocity Foundation has been assisting homeless, foster care and at-risk youth from all five boroughs of New York City—with a strong emphasis on helping youth uncover their life’s meaning and purpose and then translating their personal vision into a career, a college degree, a professional network and a portfolio of step-up work experiences. Youth graduates from the Reciprocity Foundation’s programs have become fashion designers, filmmakers, business leaders, media activists and educators—and most stay involved after graduating from Reciprocity by mentoring other homeless and at-risk youth.

Reciprocity Youth Filmmakers Attend 2011 Emmys

Contributed by Lyssette Horne, youth filmmaker and Emmy nominee


I was excited and nervous to attend the Emmy Awards in New York City. I mean, the best of the film and television industry was going to be there. Being nominated for an Emmy award on our first documentary was surprising and humbling too. It reminded me that we all have so much to be thankful for, and so much more work to do.

Being recognized for this documentary, meant much more than being acknowledged for being a filmmaker. It gave viewers proof that if WE can triumph against homelessness, than ANYONE can.

We told our stories honestly--with the goal of touching people's hearts and minds. And we need to continue to do that until all youth have safe housing, either with or outside their families of origin.

We made this documentary to create change. To bring to light the many issues that so many runaway and throw-away youth face. What so many didn't know was that the grueling film schedule--the early mornings and late nights--were even harder for us to cope with because we didn't have the luxury of safe housing or supportive family members.

But we poured our hearts out in the film to put any shame we felt about our past to rest. So that we could start to live free from those fears and doubts that plague so many of us. We wanted to inspire other homeless youth to want more than to just "get by." do more than just get by. To show the world that we can thrive in the face of adversity.

The Reciprocity Foundation has not only inspired me to change and grow, but to demand better for others who are experiencing hardship. I will always be an activist as long as youth are kicked out of their homes, or are forced out onto the street or are living in crisis. INVISIBLE won't be the last project we work on. There is still so much to be said, and we have so much more hope to share with the world.

GREEN FASHION by homeless designers!

What if someday being decked from head to toe in the latest trends and carrying around a copy of Vogue could send a message to the world that you are green, sustainable, sweatshop free and committed to helping your community?

Fashion gets criticized for being superficial, but people like Lauren Hope Silverstein see the potential it has to be anything but.

Silverstein, who designs for a leading fashion house, recently met with Reciprocity students to discuss green fashion and design.

The general feeling in the room was that while we all want to give back and carefully use our precious natural resources, nobody wants to sacrifice on style, and nobody has to.

For young, homeless designers, this conversation was particularly important. Having experienced so much difficulty, these youth know that in order to feel good about their contributions, they want their work to tell their stories and help others.

The reassurance that designing the perfect pair of jeans has the possibility to send a positive message of awareness and change, and keep the planet healthy, further inspired these already motivated young adults.

Reciprocity has been offering training in green and socially responsible start-ups since 2004, long before the trend truly took off, but as Terry Swack of Sustainable Minds pointed out "the challenge is the lack of accessible, easy to use information that design teams can integrate into their processes to design greener products."

Reciprocity is helping to bridge that gap, and by asking practical questions, Reciprocity students are pushing industry professionals to articulate just how we can all work together to make this trend the standard.

Silverstein, for example, is offering students guidance on portfolios, and recently led a Reciprocity project that resulted in the creation of a chic, eye-catching, green, organic, sweatshop-free tote bag, sales of which benefit programming for homeless youth. Now that is one multi-tasking accessory!
Written by Sarah Autumn Feeley