PFY Youth Teach LGBTQ History in Local Schools!

Pride for Youth’s Program Leaders debuted the new LGBTQ History workshop in December at Oceanside Middle School. This workshop was the result of a LGBTQ youth needs assessment carried out by the Youth/Adult Consortium over the last four years. The Program Leaders will facilitate this workshop in high schools and middle schools in order to integrate education around LGBTQ historical figures and events.

Mookie (Program Leader), Tawni J. Engel (PFY Asst. Director), Michael and Myrtle (Program Leaders).

New HIV Positive Support for Young Men Begins at PFY

Pride for Youth is excited to announce the start of a new HIV Positive Support Group, for young gay & bi guys, through age 30. First session will be held on Thursday, December 18th from 6-8pm. Van service, transportation reimbursement and free dinner will be available! Contact Pete Carney, LCSW, at pcarney@longislandcrisiscenter.org for more information and to sign up.

PFY Director Honored in Albany

On Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014 Pride for Youth Director, Pete Carney was honored in Albany, NY, receiving the NYS DOH Commissioner's Special Recognition Award for improving the health and well-being of NYS LGBTQ community. Pete has been PFY's director since 2008 and is responsible for the development and implementation of PFY's many innovative programs for LGBTQ youth and young adults on Long Island. Pete is pictured above with Elissa Nolan, NYS AIDS Institute Contract Manager and Carmen Vazquez, Coordinator of the LGBT Health Unit at the NYS DOH. Pride for Youth is thrilled to see Pete recognized for his dedication to the LGBTQ community on LI!

Can a Pill a Day Prevent HIV? Come to PFY's PrEP/PEP Community Forum and get info!

Can a Pill a Day Prevent HIV? Pride for Youth in collaboration with North Shore/LIJ will be holding a PrEP/PEP Community Forum on Wednesday, December 10th, 2014 at 6pm at our Bellmore offices. Get all your questions answered and find out if PrEPis for you! Free & confidential HIV testing and ACA enrollment will also be available. Open to all members of the Long Island community.

Meet The Program Leaders of 2014!

Name: Mookie Mersten

Age: 18

Sexual orientation: Gay!!!

Why I became a Program Leader: To make a difference in Long Islands Community.

Hobbies & interests: My band, softball.

Life goals: To headline a stadium tour.

Name: Melissa Barrett

Age: 19

Why I became a Program Leader: In high school I didn’t have many people to turn to for support. Now I have the opportunity to be that person for someone else!! Also all of the topics that we learn in the Program Leader program are very important and aren’t discussed often.

Hobbies & interests: Running, hiking, nature walks, soldering, building mini robots, pole vaulting, renewable energy, motorcycles, Beyonce, Michael Jackson, hydroponic systems.

Life goals: I want to own a motorcycle and travel the world. Live in a place where I am energy sufficient and independent. Even though I need money, I don’t care about it, rather live a happy/fun life without it!

Name: Nico Rumpf

Age: 19

Why I became a Program Leader: To help people and educate youth on sexual health.

Hobbies & interests: Netflix, tumblr, Nintendo 64, anime

Life goals: Being financially stable, bring fully transitioned and comfortable in my own skin. 

Meet the Program Leaders of 2014!

Name: Myrtle Montague

Age: 19

Why I became a Program Leader: I became a Program Leader because I want to educate people my age about sexual health topics and other important issues.

Hobbies & interests: Music, reading, Anne Hathaway.

Life goals: I ideally want to become a music teacher or engineer, and marry Anne Hathaway. 

Name: Gary Loiacano

Age: 19

Sexual orientation: Bisexual

Why I became a Program Leader: I want to watch the world we all share become a better place for everyone. This is why I’m a Program Leader.

Hobbies & interests: I love music, writing, reading, and all sorts of other boring academics.

Life goals: My biggest life goal is to have a life.

Name: Kermit Burchell Mitchell the 3rd

Age: 16

Sexual orientation: Gay

Why I became a Program Leader: I decided to apply for the Program Leader position when I realized I can get paid for learning about thinks I wanted to learn while being able to help out my co-workers and the LGBTQ community.

Hobbies & interests: I love playing competitive video games, most notably; Pokemon, League of Legends, Yugion, Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart; as well as RPG and strategy games like Zelda, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, etc.

Life goals: Though I have many life goals, the three most important life goals I have are:

1             -To obtain and perpetuate a loving relationship with a significant other (completed!)

2            - To create a successful video game (working on it!)

3            -To establish a business that will sell and distribute the game (working on it!)

Meet the Program Leaders of 2014!

Name: Alejandro Garcia

Age: 18

Sexual orientation: Gay

Why I became a Program Leader: I chose to become a Program Leader to expand my knowledge, assist others, and become more involved within the LBGTQ community. I chase to face challenges within myself and help others through theirs. To know the right way to say things and grow, develop into a young man who has a drive to be the change he’d like to see.

Hobbies & interests: I enjoy writing stories that never seem to finish, poetry, and short plays. I love to run when I’m not being lazy. I absolutely love Indie Music, café’s, and movie nights that are memoir filled.  

Life goals: I aspire to become a knowledgeable man, not for the vanity, but to educate and cause a positive impact. I will be the father of open-minded children who stand for what they believe and a husband to an amazing man, all while keeping the connection to my family.

Name: Michael O’Connor

Age: 20

Sexual orientation: Pansexual

Why I became a Program Leader: This is my third and final year with the Program Leader program. Being a Program Leader has opened many of unique opportunities for me which I will cherish for the rest of my life. The main reason I chose to apply for this position was because I wanted to make a difference in a underrepresented community..

Hobbies & interests: I enjoy many forms of art as well as writing and am currently working to write and produce my first screen play.

Life goals: My life goals mainly include becoming successful in either the social work, or graphic design profession. 

Meet the Program Leaders of 2014!

Name: Eric Thompson

Age: 19

Sexual orientation: Gay

Why I became a Program Leader: I became a program leader to educate my peers, and lead my community to successful health habits.

Hobbies & interests: I enjoy jogging, singing and learning new things! I also like to eat!

Life goals: I want to own a small business, start a family with a mortgage and three children. I also want a husky.

Name: Carina Velasquez

Age: 19

Why I became a Program Leader: To bring awareness to social issues concerning the LGBTQ community.

Hobbies & interests: Playing guitar, longboarding, going to the beach, psychology.

Life goals: To become a psychologist and open up my own practice.

Name: Jarod Dimatos

Age: 17

Sexual orientation: Gay

Why I became a Program Leader: I became a Program Leader because I’m very close to the staff and participants of PFY. I love to help the community in any way possible and this job allows me to. On top of all that I’m very intrigued by the world of healthcare and I always learn something at work, not something everyone can say.

Hobbies & interests: I’m a dancer day and night. That is where my devotion is. I love music, I play about 9 instruments and I’m also big on art as well.  

Life goals: Well, graduating high school and college would be great. Eventually getting married would also be nice. I’d like to make use of my dancing and find some sort of career regarding that. 

Pride for Youth Comes Out on TV!

Pride for Youth will be featured on the next edition of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, “Coming Out”! This exciting new show surrounds the experiences of LGBTQ youth and gives them the opportunity to tell their individual coming out stories in their own words. Don’t miss it! The premier will air Tuesday, October 7^th at 8:00pm. National Coming Out Day is Thursday, October 11^th. How will you honor the day?

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2014/10/02/openly-gay-kids-share-their-stories-in-nick-news-with-linda-ellerbee-coming-out-premiering-tuesday-oct-7-at-8-pm-et-pt-on-nickelodeon-337312/20141002nickelodeon03/

Childrens Support Group for LGBTQ kids 8-13 starts July 1st!

 

Children are identifying as

LGBTQ as early as age 8.

Pride for Youth now has a social/support group for LGBTQ kids 8-13, but we need YOUR help finding them! 

 

Long Island Crisis Center has a rich history of serving people when there are no services available. From our annual suicide awareness walk in Long Beach on Sept. 21st to our program for LGBTQ youth, Pride for Youth, we support and engage some of the most vulnerable Long Islanders.

We are reaching out to you to ask if you would kindly disseminate information about our new program Rainbow Kids to anyone you know involved with an LGBTQ child age 8-13. As supporters of our agency and youth, YOU are the bridge between children and our services! Together we can reach out to these children and provide them with support, a social outlet and a better understanding of what lies ahead.

Rainbow Kids is a social and support group for children between the ages of 8-13 who identify as Transgender, Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian or Questioning. 

 

Facilitated by a licensed social worker, Rainbow Kids is a 10 week program that meets every Tuesday during the summer from 6-8pm beginning Tuesday, July 1st. Attendance can be weekly, or when you are available.

Topics covered include - 'Who Am I?' , Building Friendships, Being a Rainbow Kid, Dealing with School, Getting Out Stress, Talking to Family and more! All activities are age appropriate.

Event information on Facebook here!

We hope you will share this information with anyone caring for an LGBTQ child so they can enjoy the support and fun of Rainbow Kids!

For information please call Erin at 516-679-9000 ext. 17 or email efurey@longislandcrisiscenter.org

*Please note we also offer monthly parent nights to support parents of LGBTQ youth. For information on our next parents night on 7/3 from 6:30-8:30, please email tengel@longislandcrisiscenter.org. All caregivers of LGBTQ youth welcome.

March with Pride for Youth & LGBT Activist Brendan Fay!

March with Pride for Youth & LGBTQ Rights Activist Brendan Fay in the Long Island Pride Parade this Saturday!

This Saturday is the Long Island Pride Parade and Pride for Youth will be there with a bus load of LGBTQ youth to march through the streets of Huntington! We will also be marching with LGBTQ rights activist Brendan Fay! 

Meet us by 11:30 at the Huntington Cinema Arts Centre for the line-up and to score a FREE official Pride for Youth Long Island Pride t-shirt (as well as other awesome rainbow give-a-ways!) Then come check out our table in the park at Pride Fest for more information on our services for LGBTQ youth on Long Island!

Brendan Fay was a co-founder of "The Civil Marriage Trail Project" in 2003, bringing couples across borders for legal marriage. Brendan will also be at Coffeehouse on Friday for our annual Pride Pep Rally to share his experience in activism with us! For more information check our event page on Facebook or follow us on Instagram!

Lady Gaga & her mom celebrate Pride for Youth!

Pride for Youth was recently the recipient of quite a few gifts from Lady Gaga, her mother Cynthia Germanotta and her charitable organization the Born This Way Foundation!

  

 Pride for Youth has been lucky enough to become an official partner organization of Lady Gaga's charity the Born This Way Foundation (BTWF) & has received some awesome gifts courtesy of Mother Monster and her mom!

Last month, BTWF gave Pride for Youth a table at Lady Gaga's concert at Madison Square Garden because we've been such a fun partner to them! Our youth Program Leader Myrtle and Social Worker Erin Furey got to set up an amazing table at her concert to give a way tons of Pride for Youth goodies!

 

We also got to go outside and work the crowd - we told thousands of 'little monsters' about Pride for Youth and collected a ton of e-mails so that we can link LGBTQ youth to our services!

The best part of the night (other than Lady Gaga's concert!) was when the BTWF staffers gave Pride for Youth a poster that tons of Gaga's fans signed that was dedicated to Pride for Youth! The idea for this gift came right from Cynthia Germanotta herself! We have the poster hanging up at PFY! We can't thank BTWF and Lady Gaga enough for the amazing opportunity they gave to Pride for Youth! Stay tuned into our services - you never know when another 'Gaga' opportunity may arise!

Saying 'good-bye' to a long time supporter...

It is with a heavy heart that Pride for Youth announces the 'sunset' on an amazing foundation that has supported us for many years. 

 

For more than 25 years, the Paul Rapoport Foundation has played a unique role in New York City’s LGBT movement. Solely dedicated to the rights, health and
well-being of the city’s LGBT communities, the Foundation has both witnessed and
helped catalyze the enormous changes and momentous gains that LGBT New
Yorkers have experienced since the Foundation’s formal establishment in 1987.

Paul Rapoport Foundation has been funding many of the programs at Pride for Youth, including our work in low-income communities on Long Island and our programming for transgender/trans* youth. Many people don't know that Pride for Youth has offered Gay Straight Alliance support to several marginalized school districts on Long Island, as well as placing a Pride for Youth counselor weekly in the same schools, to directly support LGBTQ youth in these areas. (If you'd like to donate to Pride for Youth given this loss of funding, you can do so here.)

Our Executive Director Linda Leonard, Pride for Youth Director Pete Carney and PFY Prevention Specialist Devon Zapposodi all attended the closing celebration to acknowledge the amazing work the foundations support has allowed Pride for Youth to engage in.

Paul Rapoport, an attorney, was a founder of both the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center and the Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York. He was deeply committed to supporting the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual (LGTB) communities, with a particular focus on efforts to eliminate homophobia and discrimination against gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons.

GiveOUTDay was a huge success!

 

Have you heard of Give OUT Day? If you haven't, well us me tell you! Give OUT Day is the national day of giving to LGBTQ organizations across the country! In 2013 Give OUT Day raised over $600,000, from 5,474 individuals in support of over 400 nonprofits groups across the country.

This year Pride for Youth participated in GiveOUTDay by raising money to help support our Coffeehouse, Community Education, Transgender Youth & Youth of Color programs that reached over 7,000 youth on Long Island in 2013 with an open-house phone banking event on May 15th!

  On May 15th, 2014, thousands demonstrated their support for their favorite LGBTQ nonprofits! We had lots of participants, volunteers and parents here phone-banking for Pride for Youth! We raised almost $3,000 to support our life-saving services!

THANK YOU to everyone who called, donated, volunteered time and/or who shared our info on social media that day! All of the amazing pictures from GiveOUTDay are on our Facebook and Instagram!

We cant wait to celebrate GiveOUTDay even bigger next year!

Fios

 

Pride for Youth 

featured as Heroes on Our Island!

If you missed it last week, or you don't have Fios1 don't worry! - here is your chance to see an amazing short piece on
Pride for Youth!

Pride for Youth was the feature of Heroes on Our Island, a show highlighting local people working to make a difference on Long Island. Fios1 spent the day at Pride for Youth and profiled one of our participants who is an amazing artist! They also did an great job showing our space, our staff and most of all - the amazing LGBTQ youth that walk through our doors! (Over 700 in 2013 alone!)

We are so excited for the piece that we hope you enjoy and share on Facebook so that more LGBTQ youth can find out about our FREE, supportive services including free counseling, free HIV testing and a 24/7/365 crisis and help hotline & text service.

Pride for Youth, a division of Long Island Crisis Center is a service and an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) youth, ages 13-26. Our mission is to enhance the health, wellness and cultural competency of LGBTQ youth through education, supportive services and youth development. We serve New York State's Nassau and Suffolk counties. For more information please visit our website or call 516-679-9000.

Pride for Youth

2050 Bellmore Ave

Bellmore NY 11710

Check us out on Facebook or Instagram!

PRIDE FOR YOUTH & FAITH SHEPHERD SCORE A VICTORY FOR GENDER NON CONFORMING STUDENTS!

Many of you have been following us as we take a journey with Faith Shepherd - the 17 year-old out lesbian from Central Islip who won Homecoming King at her school this fall! 


Faith ran - and won by a landslide - to raise awareness around transgender youth rights. Faith knows that being an out lesbian afforests her more privlige, a safer school experience & less risk when compared with her transgender peers. So she decided to create a space where any youth could come out as they are - whether they be male, female, cisgender, transgender or gender queer.

Since then, a controversy erupted as some adults in the community didnt like Faith's move. They asked that her move be banned, and that the school district create a policy banning youth from running for positions that didnt match their gender marker, because what she did broke tradition.


In November, we honored Faith at our 20th Anniversary Celebration as Long Islands first LGBTQ youth center, and our Social Worker Erin cultivated a relationship with Faith, advocating with her when needed. They were even on the news live!


In January and February Pride for Youth spoke to the Central Islip Board of Education asking them not to enact such a policy. Even the ACLU came along to show support and explain how the proposed policy violates Title XI, the NYS Constitution, The First Amendment & The Dignity for All Students Act.

At the meeting on Monday, TONS of Faiths friends, students, community members and parents flooded the Board of Education with testimonials asking them NOT to do this. Some people even spoke out in opposition of Faith's move. But in the end, the school board decided not to adopt the discriminatory policy! Even the Homecoming Queen, Valerie Baez spoke out!

Pride for Youth is proud and honored to take this exciting journey with Faith - and we will keep you posted on updates! Faith will be marching with us in the Long Island Pride Parade this June, and will be coming to Coffeehouse soon! Faith wanted to say 'Thank You' for all your support - please check out her video here!

Faith Shepherd & Pride for Youth fight for Transgender Youth Visibility!

Check this amazing video!

Long Island girl elected homecoming king challenges gender-specific policy at school: Long Island girl elected homecoming king challenges gender-specific policy at school

Pride for Youth is very lucky to be able to support Faith Shepherd, the 17 year old lesbian from Central Islip who won Homecoming King in her journey to raise awareness for transgender rights!

We have been supporting Faith from the beginning...we even honored her way before all the controversy began at our 20th Anniversary Celebration this past fall!


Check out Faith and our Social Worker Erin on the WPIX morning news discussing the issue! And stay tuned - Faiths journey isn't over yet!