Lost Angels Children’s Project After-School Program
1420 W Avenue I, Lancaster, CA 93534
About
The Lost Angels Children’s Project After-School Program teaches teens the art of classic car restoration through hands-on activities such as drilling, working with fiberglass, surface prepping for vehicles, mixing chemicals, and using tools in a proper way. The program includes 400 hours of paid work experience, training, and mentorship to prepare participants for in-demand and diverse career pathways.
• Ages: 14–18 years old
Lost Angels was started in 2014 by Aaron Valencia. Aaron Valencia serves as Chief Executive Officer. The program began as a way to keep teenagers off the streets while teaching them the art of classic car restoration and has grown to serve more than 200 youths, with 197 of them employed and 176 in manufacturing, aerospace-related jobs, and other high wage employment. The program offers the Antelope Valley support through traditional outreach, vocational training, and social enterprise initiatives in the form of an after-school program.
The program is accessible to historically underserved communities through a partnership with JVS SoCal and the Antelope Valley America’s Job Center of California (AJCC), and through a partnership with LA County’s Department of Economic Opportunity via the AJCC, which facilitates access to Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds to offer paid on-the-job training. Northrop Grumman is an employer partner. JVS SoCal operates California’s only Veterans AJCC at Bob Hope Patriotic Hall in downtown Los Angeles and has earned the U.S. Department of Labor’s HIRE Vets Gold Medallion and the Call of Duty Endowment Seal of Distinction for its veterans program. There are over 500 low-income, high-barrier youth waiting to get into the program.
Angel, a former participant, described first noticing “all those students from the after-school program walking in and out of Aaron’s shop back in the day” and said, “I’ve always been into cars, and I was always curious about what they were doing.” Angel learned that after the fourth week, the program pays the students to restore classic cars and decided to join, later saying, “It wasn’t easy, but I was really ambitious, and I really wanted it. The Lost Angels program had it for me. All I had to do was just show that I really wanted it,” and “A lot of things I do at work here I learned at Lost Angels.” Angel also shared that during a third interview at Lost Angels with Northrop Grumman, “they asked me if I was really interested in going to school and I told them: ‘yes, I want to get my degree,’” and “They threw it on the table that Northrop could pay for my courses.” Reflecting on future plans, Angel said, “My next one I would have to say, my next five-year goal plan, I want to build my house, I want to own one of my dream cars, I want to start a business… just those three at the moment, but throughout the years, more are to come,” and added, “I come not to tell my story, but to tell them if I could do it, you guys can do it too.”
Aaron Valencia stated, “JVS SoCal has been a huge, integral part to our programming” and explained that the partnership gives the program “the ability of being an actual job,” noting that when students receive a paycheck, they are more accountable and that “this isn’t just a class that you can miss a day, this is a job.” He also said, “For myself I see a lot of these young kids and they are younger versions of ourselves,” and, “When I was 18, if I had this, it would have helped me so much.” Speaking about the long-term partnership, Aaron said, “JVS SoCal has been with us from the beginning and really helped us grow and continue to help us grow. It’s an amazing team and we are proud to be a part of it.”
Last updated July 25, 2026.
• Ages: 14–18 years old
Lost Angels was started in 2014 by Aaron Valencia. Aaron Valencia serves as Chief Executive Officer. The program began as a way to keep teenagers off the streets while teaching them the art of classic car restoration and has grown to serve more than 200 youths, with 197 of them employed and 176 in manufacturing, aerospace-related jobs, and other high wage employment. The program offers the Antelope Valley support through traditional outreach, vocational training, and social enterprise initiatives in the form of an after-school program.
The program is accessible to historically underserved communities through a partnership with JVS SoCal and the Antelope Valley America’s Job Center of California (AJCC), and through a partnership with LA County’s Department of Economic Opportunity via the AJCC, which facilitates access to Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds to offer paid on-the-job training. Northrop Grumman is an employer partner. JVS SoCal operates California’s only Veterans AJCC at Bob Hope Patriotic Hall in downtown Los Angeles and has earned the U.S. Department of Labor’s HIRE Vets Gold Medallion and the Call of Duty Endowment Seal of Distinction for its veterans program. There are over 500 low-income, high-barrier youth waiting to get into the program.
Angel, a former participant, described first noticing “all those students from the after-school program walking in and out of Aaron’s shop back in the day” and said, “I’ve always been into cars, and I was always curious about what they were doing.” Angel learned that after the fourth week, the program pays the students to restore classic cars and decided to join, later saying, “It wasn’t easy, but I was really ambitious, and I really wanted it. The Lost Angels program had it for me. All I had to do was just show that I really wanted it,” and “A lot of things I do at work here I learned at Lost Angels.” Angel also shared that during a third interview at Lost Angels with Northrop Grumman, “they asked me if I was really interested in going to school and I told them: ‘yes, I want to get my degree,’” and “They threw it on the table that Northrop could pay for my courses.” Reflecting on future plans, Angel said, “My next one I would have to say, my next five-year goal plan, I want to build my house, I want to own one of my dream cars, I want to start a business… just those three at the moment, but throughout the years, more are to come,” and added, “I come not to tell my story, but to tell them if I could do it, you guys can do it too.”
Aaron Valencia stated, “JVS SoCal has been a huge, integral part to our programming” and explained that the partnership gives the program “the ability of being an actual job,” noting that when students receive a paycheck, they are more accountable and that “this isn’t just a class that you can miss a day, this is a job.” He also said, “For myself I see a lot of these young kids and they are younger versions of ourselves,” and, “When I was 18, if I had this, it would have helped me so much.” Speaking about the long-term partnership, Aaron said, “JVS SoCal has been with us from the beginning and really helped us grow and continue to help us grow. It’s an amazing team and we are proud to be a part of it.”
Last updated July 25, 2026.
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