YP2F Podcast Ep 54 ft. Dr. Robin Petering

Our latest podcast episode is live! Tonny sits down with Dr. Robin Petering, founder and CEO of Young People at the Front, for a deep dive into the evolution of YP2F and why third spaces matter more than ever.

Robin shares her journey from street outreach worker in Eugene, Oregon to building YP2F HQ—a community hub designed as infrastructure for young people exiting homelessness. From recording studios to Shakespeare workshops to sound baths, the HQ is proving that these gathering spaces are essential, not optional.

Plus: This episode marks Tonny's 3-year anniversary with YP2F!

Go deeper on topics discussed in our latest ep

From Street Outreach to Building Community Infrastructure

Robin's journey in the youth homeless system started as a 22-year-old street outreach worker at a homeless youth drop-center in Eugene, Oregon back in 2007. She eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she's spent the last 12 years doing advocacy and research work before building what YP2F HQ is today.

The episode traces how Lens Co evolved into Young People at the Front in 2024 (catch up with our recently published impact report here). When Robin founded the organization in 2018, the vision always included having a real community hub, not just an office.

The Evolution of YP2F HQ

Originally, Lens Co/Young People at the Front operated as a research and policy lab focused on systems change. The vision always included having a community hub and shared space, not just an office. Post-pandemic in 2021, the organization moved into its first office as a founding org of the Robinson Space, where Robin served as executive director for two years before stepping back to focus on Young People at the Front. In 2023, we moved to our current location in Virgil Village—a multi-room space with a recording studio, creative area, workshop area, conference room, and lounge. The space has evolved from a large, hollow event space to a purpose-built community hub.

• Ending youth homelessness is about relationships: The importance of drop-in centers and staff to youth experiencing homelessness
• Community and well-being: A qualitative study of how youth experiencing homelessness define community and its relations to their well-beingYoung People Exiting Homelessness: An Exploration of Process, Meaning and Definition

The Crisis of Disappearing Third Spaces

The conversation dives deep into what Robin calls the "third space crisis" happening right now across LA. Commercial landlords are keeping spaces vacant with zero consequences, businesses are closing left and right, and organizations are shutting down offices to save money. Once these spaces close, they don't come back. And we lose the diverse subcultures and social networks that make our neighborhoods actually vibrant.

• How big cities like los angeles need third places that are accessible to those who would benefit the most
• Closure of ‘Third Places’? Exploring Potential Consequences for Collective Health and Wellbeing
• Redefining Third Spaces: Modern Approaches to Informal Urban Gathering Places