Low family socioeconomic status (SES) has been noted to impact children and youths' development, specifically in cognitive skills and risky behaviors (Brieant et al., 2021). Low SES often increases stressors for parents, may hinder monitoring of youth if parents must work multiple jobs, and may impact child-parent quality time and bonding (Conger & Conger, 2002). It also presents barriers to cognitively stimulating resources and social activities. Children from lower SES families are less likely to visit the zoo, go to museums, or attend cultural arts performances, which are important for positive, healthy development (Bradley & Corwyn, 2002). Youth from low-income families and communities often have low quality resources for mental health, fewer organized activities for youth and families, and decreased social support in comparison to moderate- to high-income families (Andrews et al., 2015). Some of the overall strategies to offset risks for youth from low-SES or high-crime neighborhoods include teaching life skills, providing healthy after-school activities, and connecting youth with positive, caring adults (CDC, 2021). The Prodigy Cultural Arts program was developed to offer an after-school program in a neighborhood where youth often experience low SES and have few free, enriching activities, especially after school. The program includes cultural arts programming embedded with life skills and envisions itself as an early prevention program for youth in the surrounding community. The purpose of this study was to add empirical information about arts-based youth programs and life skills in after-school programming. The specific research questions asked whether there were any differences in life skills, risk, and protective factors for the youth after completion of the Prodigy program.