Report

In late 2021, a group of artists, revolutionaries, and visionaries, led by Gina Lyles and Trey
Hartt, began building The Hive, a radical new ecosystem in Richmond, Virginia, designed to
support young people too often tracked into the legal system. Drawing on a decade of
cultural organizing and community conversations with system-involved youth, The Hive was built around a campus, healing-centered programming, community partnerships, and a culture of radical acceptance. To document the process, The Hive partnered with Catalyze Justice (CJ) in early 2025.

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By fall 2025, The Hive's radical optimism and visionary approach met the reality of a
tightening funding landscape. With resources shrinking significantly, the organization's cofounders chose to pause its work to build a national ecosystem of like-minded projects.
And while the team remains dedicated to their community, they also recognize that the
structural limitations of public and private funding have made it difficult to bring their full
vision to life.

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That said, much endures. The relationships The Hive built are durable. The campus vision
lives on. The Young Innovator Squad's model has been captured in a field guide. And the cofounders remain committed to the work and the field. This brief shares those reflections
and closes with a call to action for funders ready to support the kind of visionary, holistic approach that young people deserve.

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