This chapter describes Project BRIDGE, a program in Texas supported by the Texas Commission on the Arts, that provides opportunities for creative expression and development to residents of housing projects.

The arts are part of the solution to problems that endanger America's youth - problems of teenage pregnancy, violence, drug abuse, and dropping out of school. This assertion is supported by an ever growing number of success stories from communities of all sizes and economic circumstances. The purpose of this publication is to share some of these stories that illustrate the positive difference made in the lives of children and their families by artists, arts organizations, and community groups with assistance from the National Endowment for the Arts, the fifty-six state and jurisdictional arts agencies, and the seven regional arts organizations. (Foreword, p. 6)