Under-resourced students find confidence and employment in this art program

Sarah Richi carefully adds a line of yellow paint to her newest piece, a 2-by-4-foot abstract painting in a pastel palette. The recent high school graduate steps back on the paint-splattered floor and ponders the whole piece, gently swaying back and forth to the music that fills the studio.

The piece she is working on is part of a diptych for a client who visited Artists for Humanity and loved her work. The nonprofit organization, now in its 28th year, employs teens from low-income families in South Boston. Between 250 and 300 high-schoolers a year attend AFH summer and after-school programs. 

Ms. Richi is