Brooklyn man aims to help kids believe in themselves with Healing Through Art program

"

A Brooklyn man, who experienced homelessness in the past, started a program to help kids in the area believe in themselves. Robin Reyes was homeless for a year in Los Angeles. He says he stayed in an abandoned warehouse at night and Starbucks during the day. There. he learned how to build websites and edit video. He then says he offered those skills as services for free in order to build cliental. He says through that. he was able to get out of homelessness - and he wanted to share what he learned. He's trying to do this with his program called Heal Through Art. There, he gives kids the pep talks he wished he had, while exposing them to different trades like cooking, making music, painting, content creation and more. The program is in its infancy, only operating for a year. In that time, Reyes says more than 100 kids have participated in the program. Their most recent class was six weeks at Cypress Community Center. Reyes says they operate all over the city and hopes to expand to schools. Students there tell News 12 the program helped them deal with their anxiety and stress and made them feel as if they have a better idea of what they'd like to do in the future. It is free to all participants. "