Thursday, August 29, 2013

Walk with PFY to Prevent LGBTQ Teen Suicide on Sept. 29th


We walk because the suicide rate for LGBTQ Youth is 4 times the amount of their heterosexual counterparts.

Pride for Youth is doing their part to prevent LGBTQ youth suicide by walking (and working) at Long Island Crisis Center's Annual 'Let's Walk, Let's Talk' Suicide Awareness Walk on Sunday September 29th in Long Beach.

Pride for Youth is a project of Long Island Crisis Center, which was founded in 1971. Very early on, LICC was taking calls from LGBTQ Long Islanders leading us to start the areas first Gay Peer Counseling Hotline. Years later LICC opened the doors to Pride for Youth, Long Islands first LGBTQ youth center and the first suburban LGBTQ center in the country! Years later, LICC runs Pride for Youth, The Mpowerment Project and in 2012, LICC answered over 11,000 calls from Long Islanders in need.

Every year our youth Program Leaders work at the suicide awareness walk, helping teams find each other, encouraging walkers and helping out all the PFY and LICC staff! PFY staff work the walk as well and many alumni come back to walk as well!

If you'd like to form a team and walk in memory of someone you know, join someones team or if you would just like to donate to LICC visit our registration site here! We hope to see you on September 29th!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Showtime TV's The Real L Word invades Pride for Youth!



Pride for Youth is feeling especially excited these days! Recently, we've been lucky enough to form a relationship with Somer Bingham and her wife Donna - two stars of Showtime televisions hit 'The Real L Word'! Somer is a rockin' musician with her own band - Clinical Trials!

Somer and Donna came to Pride for Youth to speak with and perform for our youth recently! The young people had a blast meeting them - they were so inspired! Somer and Donna stayed all night chatting with our youth!

Somer and Donna also helped PFY out big time by appearing at our (adults only) fundraiser held this Spring at The Bunkhouse. We had an amazing Bachelor/Bachelorette auction, Somer performed, Miss Long Island Erika Blaze hosted with PFY Social Worker Erin and we raised several thousand dollars!

Keep checking our blog and Facebook page - we have so many exciting things planned for the fall - and you never know who may be stopping by our Friday night Coffeehouse program for LGBTQ youth!

Monday, August 19, 2013

PFY Hires New Youth Staff

It's an exciting day today at Pride for Youth! Today starts orientation for our Program Leaders - an inspiring group of LGBTQ and Straight youth that we hire to work as peer educators!

For the next two weeks, our Program Leaders will be going through some intensive training on topics such as homophobia/transphobia, teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, Suicide Prevention and more. Then, we will train the youth to go out into their communities and teach workshops themselves in local schools! The Program Leaders also work at our Friday night Coffeehouse program, that serves approximately 70 or so youth weekly! They will also work and rep Long Island Crisis Center and Pride for Youth at our annual Suicide Awareness Walk in Long Beach on Sept. 29th, at Equality & Justice Day 2014 in Albany and when PFY marches in the Long Island Pride Parade!

Last year our Program Leaders also went to Outward Bound, volunteers for Lady Gaga's Born Brave Bus and even were included in a photo shoot for the Empire State Pride Agenda! For more information on our Program Leaders or to find out how you can apply for next year, contact Jill at jestes@longislandcrisiscenter.org or check us out on Facebook!