Rachel Oppong, a fifth-year Northeastern University student from Worcester, Massachusetts, spent her summer combining theater workshops with behavioral psychology to uplift unhoused youth at Larkin Street Youth in San Francisco, news.northeastern.edu reported. Oppong used her interdisciplinary studies to provide creative outlets for vulnerable populations, drawing on prior experience gained through university co-ops.
The urban youth crisis in San Francisco involves hundreds of transitional-age youth and minors who rely on supportive nonprofits for daily necessities. Larkin Street Youth supported 185 transitional-age youths and 85 minors over the past year, providing education resources, employment services, and hot meals, according to Nicholas Hester, associate director of shelter programs at the organization.
Northeastern University Student Leads Art Workshops in San Francisco
Oppong’s path toward youth mentorship and social work began long before her arrival in Boston. She worked as a babysitter, camp counselor, and worker at the Russell J. Call Children’s Center on Northeastern’s campus. However, she struggled to align those interests with her parallel passions for theater and behavioral psychology until discovering Northeastern’s unique combined major.
During her three-month summer internship at Larkin Street Youth, Oppong led theater workshops designed to help participants process their circumstances. “The arts cannot solve homelessness,” Oppong said. “But they can provide something that is often missing from conversations about homelessness: a place for people to express themselves and be seen as more than their circumstances.”
Combining Psychology and Theater Studies on Campus
The combined psychology and theater bachelor’s program at Northeastern University merges an interdisciplinary foundation in cognition, psycholinguistics, and the biological basis of behavior with stage productions and theater coursework. Melinda Lopez, a Northeastern theater professor and award-winning playwright, noted that the curriculum trains students to understand human behavior deeply within a theatrical domain.
Before her time in the Bay Area, Oppong completed a co-op at Pine Street Inn, New England’s largest homeless services provider. Working on the streets of Boston, she connected unhoused individuals with agency resources. That direct outreach informed her subsequent work as assistant director for a Northeastern production of “Poor Clare,” a comedic drama featuring homeless characters. Rather than relying on cliches of extreme poverty, Oppong advised actors on how unhoused individuals speak and present themselves with dignity, according to Lopez.
San Francisco Youth Homelessness Decreases as Services Remain Critical
Oppong decided to address San Francisco’s housing crisis after visiting friends in the city and observing downtown challenges in the Tenderloin neighborhood. Citywide data from the 2026 Point-in-Time Count shows overall homelessness decreasing by 4% between 2024 and 2026, falling from 8,323 people to 7,973 people. San Francisco also recorded a 54% decrease in homelessness among children and transitional-age youth aged 18 to 24.
Despite those declining overall figures, youth services remain an area in need of attention. Organizations like Larkin Street Youth continue targeted interventions for minors and young adults facing housing instability, relying on dedicated staff and student interns to deliver comprehensive support.
October Performances at The Studio Theatre in Boston
Following her return to campus, Oppong is scheduled to perform this October at The Studio Theatre inside the Curry Student Center. She performs in “Meeting Notes,” a play written and directed by former Northeastern graduates.
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