Crossroads focus is to create opportunities for the entire community to be engaged, inspired, and transformed by the arts through participation in classes, workshops, exhibits, mentorships, and partnerships. Crossroads long-standing ArtSpeak Program was founded over 30 years ago by the amazing Debbie Friedman, principal dance instructor of Crossroads.

Debbie was approached by a local judge who was struggling with the number of teens in the juvenile justice system and asked her for ideas to educate and transform these juveniles to become responsible adults and citizens. This created ArtSpeak, an opportunity for kids and adults struggling with the day-to-day challenges to have free art classes with caring teachers.

Crossroads serve kids from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade who are struggling and are referred to by School Counselors as facing some type of at-risk challenges in their lives. Some examples are food insecurity in the home, physical or mental health challenges, being in foster care, struggling with bullying or making friends, or a myriad of other challenges in the home.