Pictures from 2011 HeartBEATS!!

Our 2011 World AIDS Day conference was a big success!! It's called HeartB.E.A.T.S. (Bringing Education about AIDS To Schools), and this was the 11th annual conference Pride for Youth co-sponsored, along with our partners Planned Parenthood of Nassau County and the Prevention Committee of the Nassau County HIV Commission.

About 200 students attended from eight different school districts throughout Nassau County. Pride for Youth Program Leaders conducted two workshops on homophobia, transphobia and HIV/AIDS. Long Island Crisis Center's Street Outreach Project also provided two workshops dealing with runaway and homeless youth.

But the pictures below tell the story better than any words can express. Thanks so much to the conference's fiscal sponsors: Hofstra University School of Education, Health and Social Service, NuHealth Foundation, the Stanley and Marion Bergman Family Charitable Fund and National Grid.

PFY Program Leaders at Breakfast

7th and 8th graders starting their day at Breakfast

HeartBEATS Health Fair at Hofstra's Student Activities Center

Using games to teach the facts about HIV/AIDS at Leadership Training Institute's 'Facts R Us' workshop

'Here I Stand' activity at PFY's workshop

PFY Program Leaders

Street Outreach Project workshop

Street Outreach Project Peer Educators and Staff

Planned Parenthood of Nassau County's Teen Advocate Project

Students gathered together at the auditorium for afternoon speakers

Speakers from Love Heals

Every student took home an oversized red ribbon, which they got to decorate at lunch and put up on their locker.

Immigration and LGBT Rights

Check out Director Pete Carney's guest blog on Long Island WINS, a communication and organizing campaign to promote more positive policies and attitudes toward immigrants.

Pete -- a second generation Irish immigrant -- tackles the progress and limitations of federal deportation law, which was recently amended by the Obama administration.

New Deportation Policy Could Aid LGBT Immigrants, But Won’t Guarantee Equality

Positive LGBT Role Models Help Questioning Youth

by Tawni Engel

I remember a (now critically-acclaimed) drama series in the early 1990’s called “My So-Called Life” starring Claire Danes.

Controversial for the time, the show’s singular gay character, a teenager named Rickie, led a tormented, sometimes homeless life with a background of abuse and trauma. While he could usually pull it together and attend school with a smile on his face while amongst friends, any story lines that focused on him specifically were always quite depressing.

I loved the show, and thought it was awesome that it brought a gay character to mainstream television. But I had to wonder if it perpetuated negative stereotypes and myths about the LGBT community in general. It seemed like if a person watching had been questioning their sexual identity, they would almost want to stifle it, if they thought they would be leading Rickie’s life as a gay person.

Nowadays, TV shows are becoming more positive in their portrayals of their LGBT characters, which is wonderful! With so many more LGBT-focused story lines in popular teen TV shows like Glee and DeGrassi, mainstream media is definitely providing more uplifting exposure of LGBT issues to the world of pop culture. And maybe now those (especially young people) who are watching, and questioning their sexuality, are feeling more empowered to do so because of the positive role models they are seeing on TV.

Logic would dictate, then, that more youth in general might be giving their sexual identity a closer look. The more positive images and depictions we see in the media of LGBT lives, the healthier the mainstream perspective is going to be. This can be extremely pivotal in the mind of a young person who is questioning their sexuality!

As PFY's LGBT Youth Services Program Coordinator, I am definitely seeing more youth questioning their sexual identity at younger and younger ages. We are always here to help young people who are struggling with this aspect of their lives, in a safe and confidential environment. Should you have any questions about the information in this article, feel free to contact me at 516-679-9000 ext. 128 or tengel@longislandcrisiscenter.org.

What's Up at the Nassau Youth/Adult Consortium?

By Jennifer King, MSW

From September 2010 to May 2011 I was an Adelphi University Masters level Social Work Intern here at PFY. More recently, I am a research volunteer who is part of the consortium.

What is the consortium, you may ask? Well, the Consortium is part of a 5-year grant from the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. Comprised of PFY Program Leaders, adult staff and other supporting agencies, the Consortium works to identify and raise awareness of the needs, assets, supports and opportunities related to LGBT adolescent sexual health. We meet once per month and have established a weekly workgroup—which I’m part of—to conduct research. The workgroup includes Katie Stoll, a Crisis Center volunteer, and three Program Leaders Meredith Barranco, Chris Reid, and Shay Thomas.

The mission of the consortium is to promote optimal teen sexual health, especially as it relates to the LGBT population within Nassau County. We have a long term vision of creating sustainable community change that supports LGBT teenagers’ healthy development and removes the barriers that stand in their way.

How do we pursue our mission/vision? While staff, interns and other local experts have collected research and shared their experiences regarding the needs, assets, supports and opportunities for LGBT youth, it is essential that youth are a part our effort to accomplish community change. Without engaging young people in this type of action research, the many important aspects of being a sexually protected LGBT adolescent would be very difficult to acquire. Also, without community input the Consortium itself would not be able to sufficiently assess these issues. It is important that the type of community change that we strive for not only changes the community itself, but also empowers LGBT youth to stand up and be heard.

In the fall of 2010, the research workgroup conducted a survey that asked young people what were the most important problems they were facing. Forty-two people responded, and we found that slightly more than half of the participants believe that self-acceptance is the most important issue facing LGBT youth today.

From there, we ran three focus groups to explore the topic of self-acceptance further: what it means to LGBT youth, what resources exist, and how it relates to optimal sexual health. Two of the focus groups were run at PFY and the third at Uniondale High School’s GSA. The two focus groups at PFY showed that youth feel that you need to be self-accepting in order to make positive decisions regarding not only your sexual health but the way you view yourself and the way others perceive you. At Uniondale, we learned that there is a scarcity of LGBT programs and acceptance for LGBT students in schools. But, many of our participants acknowledged that, thanks in part to the media, people’s views on the LGBT community are changing for the better.

Come the fall we are looking to expand our research and bring our findings out in the community. We are actively looking for people, ages 13-18 to help us conduct our research. If you want more information or would like to get involved, please contact the workgroup at LGBT.needs@gmail.com or (516) 679-9000.

National Research to Include Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity

Pride for Youth joins with hundreds of advocacy organizations across the country in celebrating this major milestone. A press release from the National Coalition for LGBT Health is excerpted below.

WASHINGTON, June 29 - The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Coalition for LGBT Health applaud the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for outlining an action plan to improve health data collection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Today's announcement is an important step forward in the effort to better address the health needs of the LGBT community. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Coalition for LGBT Health will track the process closely as data collection efforts progress.

Data collection that tracks the health status and experiences of LGBT individuals is essential because such data provide government agencies and community-based health care workers with information about how to offer the best health services for LGBT individuals and communities. It also will document and address health disparities experienced by LGBT people.

HHS unveiled a plan that will allow the department to more fully count and track the health of LGBT individuals by collecting and reporting sexual orientation and gender identity data on the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The plan establishes a timeline, including benchmarks along the way, for ensuring that sexual orientation and gender identity questions are added to the NHIS survey. This process includes field testing existing questions on sexual orientation as well as developing and field testing gender identity questions with the assistance of leading researchers in the field of LGBT data collection.

Hutson W. Inniss, executive director of the National Coalition for LGBT Health, says, "This is a historic day for the field of LGBT health. At the National Coalition for LGBT Health, we have been working with our members to advocate for such progress and develop tools that can be used on these surveys. We know that LGBT individuals experience unique health disparities, and tracking this data on the national level will be a remarkable step forward to documenting and identifying ways to reduce the disparities that LGBT people face."

Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, says, "This announcement represents a huge step forward for addressing the health care needs of LGBT people in this country. Data collection is essential for establishing programs that address the needs of the LGBT community in the area of health and elsewhere. The Task Force, through the New Beginning Initiative, has been advocating for data collection around sexual orientation and gender identity on all sorts of federal surveys because if they don't count us, we're virtually invisible to the federal government. We look forward to supporting HHS as this process moves ahead."

Data collection in health surveys and in other contexts has been a key priority for the New Beginning Initiative, a coalition of expert organizations convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force working to advance LGBT policy priorities in federal administrative agencies. The National Coalition for LGBT Health has led the efforts of the New Beginning Initiative to have sexual orientation and gender identity data collected on federal and state surveys, and this announcement marks a breakthrough victory in this effort.

To learn more about the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, visit www.theTaskForce.org and follow us on Twitter: @TheTaskForce (http://www.twitter.com/thetaskforce).

Long Island Gay Men's Chorus Spring Concert: You Are Not Alone

On Saturday, June 11th, the Long Island Gay Men's Chorus will hold its Spring 2011 concert at Hofstra University. Details are below.

The Chorus has generously offered to donate a portion of their ticket sales to Pride for Youth. For concert-lovers, this means the event is a win-win: come out to a great show and promote services and advocacy to LGBT youth at the same time.

When you buy tickets online, before you complete your purchase, type: pfy in the field "Special Instructions to Seller." PFY will receive $5 for every ticket tagged.

Click here to purchase tickets through PayPal.

LGBT Youth: Have Your Voice Heard in GLSEN's 2011 Survey!!

The Gay, Lesbian, Straight and Transgender Education Network (GLSEN) has launched its 2011 National School Climate Survey, and is looking for LGBT students to participate.

Conducted every two years since 2001, GLSEN's National School Climate Survey is the largest source of data on LGBT students' experiences in schools. Survey results inform policymakers across the country, and can help bring attention to bullying and name-calling as well as positive activities such as Gay/Straight Alliances.

The only requirements for participating are: (1) you must be at least 13 years old, and (2) you must have been in middle or high school during the 2010/2011 year.

For the first time ever, the School Climate Survey can be completed on-line. Click here or visit http://www.glsen.org/2011survey.

Three Year Grant from Rapoport Foundation

We are thrilled to announce that the Paul Rapoport Foundation has awarded PFY a three-year $175,000 grant to address disparities among LGBT youth of color.

The grant will enable the hiring of a social worker to provide services directly to students in Hempstead, Roosevelt and Uniondale school districts, including counseling, support groups, anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia education and Gay/Straight Alliance co-facilitation.

While young African American and Hispanic LGBTs negotiate many of the same challenges that all young LGBTs face—unsafe schools and lack of family support for example—racial and economic segregation on Long Island is a reality. Many youth of color grow up in under-resourced communities, where there are fewer opportunities and additional stigma.

According to Long Island Crisis Center’s Associate Executive Director Andy Peters: “What we tend to see with PFY’s youth of color is a more complex set of challenges—poverty, the need to take on independent roles at early ages, and day-to-day survival taking priority over planning for the future.” As a result, the path to healthy LGBT adulthood is often even more difficult, and physical and emotional ‘self-care’ can take a backseat to more immediate needs like earning money and helping to stabilize the family.

The Rapoport grant will provide free, high quality support to these youth with the goals of promoting positive identity development and increasing skills to manage stressful life events. The funds give PFY the opportunity to re-instate school-based services in three priority districts. While staff have conducted LGBT outreach and counseling in the target schools as far back as 2003, services ceased in 2010 when the NYS Dept. of Health’s redirected PFY’s adolescent prevention funds from school to community settings.

The Paul Rapoport Foundation—http://www.paulrapoportfundation.org—supports programs and organizations working in the areas of social services, healthcare, legal rights and issues, and community empowerment for three populations of low or no income: (1) transgender communities of color; (2) LGTBQ youth of color, ages 24 and under; and (3) LGTB seniors of color aged 60 and over. The Foundation has supported PFY’s work since 1993, but this multi-year grant will be its last, as part of a planned spend-out by 2014.

Supporting LGBTQ Youth in Our Schools and Communities

PFY is joining with the New York State Department of Mental Health, the Trevor Project and Pride Center of Central New York to sponsor a series of webinars on the critical topic of promoting safety for LGBT youth.

The webinars are free and open to the general public. Information on the program and how to register follows...

Webinar: Supporting LGBTQ Youth in Our Schools and Communities
LGBTQ youth face unique challenges in our schools and communities that put them at statistically higher risk for social isolation, bullying, and suicide. Please join us for an informative discussion about fostering a positive school and community climate for middle and high school youth regardless of their sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity. This panel discussion, facilitated by Melanie Puorto, director of the New York State Office of Mental Health’s Suicide Prevention Initiative, will feature panelists from The Trevor Project, The Long Island Crisis Center’s Pride for Youth program, and Pride Center of the (NY) Capital Region. We will discuss the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth and practical strategies and steps schools and community organizations can take to promote the well-being and academic success of all students. This Webinar is organized and hosted by Kognito Interactive, developers of the At-Risk family of suicide prevention and gatekeeper training simulations for education, health care and military settings.

This free Webinar will be conducted twice. Please choose one of the following dates/time:
- Tuesday, May 10, 4pm-5pm EDT - https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/739484256
- Tuesday, June 28, 4pm-5pm EDT - https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/337901457
Who Should Attend?
Middle and High School Educators and Administrators, Youth Center Leaders, Mental Health Professionals, Parents

Webinar Learning Objectives
Attendees of this Webinar will learn:
- About the unique challenges facing LGBTQ teens
- About national data showing high rates of suicide, depression and substance abuse among students identifying as LGBTQ
- What schools and community organizations can do to foster a positive climate for LGBTQ students and what mental health providers can do to affirm LGBTQ youth

Facilitator
Melanie Puorto, Director, Suicide Prevention Initiative, NYS Office of Mental Health

Panelists
Meg Ten Eyck, Education Manager, The Trevor Project. Meg joined The Trevor Project in 2010, where she oversees and expands the Trevor Lifeguard program. The Trevor Project is a national organization providing crisis and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.

Pete Carney, Director, Pride for Youth, Long Island Crisis Center
Pete supervises Pride for Youth’s day-to-day operations. He is the primary point of contact for the Counseling and Community Education programs and carries a caseload of individuals and families.

Curran Saile, Program Director, Pride Center of the Capital Region
Curran Saile has been the Program Director at the Pride Center of the Capital Region since June 2009. She coordinates the Center Youth, Center Support, Vintage Pride and Trans Pride programs
The session will include Q&A, and presentation slides will be made available to attendees following the session.

Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction at Franky B's this Saturday

This Saturday, April 30th, PFY is holding a Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction at Franky B's Roadhouse Bar & Grill in Bellmore.

There will be four gay bachelors and four gay bachelorette's, each with exciting date packages including Trapeze school lessons, Broadway shows and roller derby tickets.

Doors open at 8:00pm, the auction starts promptly at 10:30pm, and the door is only $10. All proceeds will be dedicated to sustaining our homophobia and LGBT bullying education in Long Island schools. This event is strictly for 21 and over.

Addressing the Treatment of LGBT Students: A DASA Forum

Last Thursday, April 14th, Nassau BOCES sponsored a special forum for school administrators on the subject of the NYS Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). The featured speakers were Pride for Youth's very own Director Pete Carney and Long Island Crisis Center Associate Executive Director Andy Peters.

Twenty administrators--representing fifteen districts from Oceanside to Shirley--attended. The main purpose was to familiarize school officials with new regulations to render school environments free of discrimination, harassment and bullying. Fought for by LGBT student advocates, DASA is the state's first safe schools legislation to include "sexual orientation" and "gender identity or expression" in a list of protected categories, along with race, gender, religion and many others.

As such, it is the first law that requires schools to have policies and practices that specifically address discrimination and harassment against LGBT students.

Pete and Andy's presentation covered an overview of DASA, legal aspects of anti-LGBT harassment, the prevalence of bullying and best practices for protecting students. The presentation was interspersed with profiles of gay students who were victims of bullying and committed suicide over the past year, including Tyler Clementi and Seth Walsh.

For more information on this topic, contact PCarney@longislandcrisiscenter.org.

My Experience on TLC's What Not To Wear

by Jill Estes, Community Educator

When I was nominated for TLC’s show What Not To Wear, I was at first quite a bit offended. But after the experience I am grateful to have been part of it. The show aired last Tuesday, March 22nd. For a one-hour show, there was an incredible amount of work that went on behind the scenes.
The week of filming and shopping was long, exhausting and fun. That week made me realize a lot of things about myself that I wouldn’t have looked at if I weren’t forced to.

When I first arrived I thought this would be a great opportunity to have some time away from my busy schedule and relax. I immediately realized that was not the case. I also had the assumption that this was solely about my clothing and style. This too was not the case. The week of filming and shopping was a long and tiring one, but an experience I am lucky to have. I can’t count the amount of interviews, the amount of taxi’s I took, or the amount of stores I shopped in.

One major challenge on the show was to find clothing that was “work appropriate” but still felt like me. The show’s hosts, Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, brought up a very valid point. When I dressed for work I did my best to hide my tattoos. Being that one main focus of the work I do is spreading the message to be true to yourself, and that nobody needs to conform to society’s mold, I was acting hypocritical for many years by covering myself up so much when I went out into the community. We agreed to find a happy medium.

The biggest challenge was finding clothes that didn’t make me feel uncomfortable in my own skin. My gender identity was a major conflict with many of the outfits they made me try on. I fall under the transgender umbrella as a gender bender who loves appearing androgynous. Although I am quite comfortable identifying as female, I do not feel comfortable in over feminized clothing. Every time they would put me in ruffles or floral prints I would shriek. During the countless interviews I was consistently asked why I didn’t feel comfortable in most women’s clothing. And I consistently answered that “I felt like I was dressing in drag”. Luckily, by the end of the week, I was able to find a wardrobe that met that happy medium and was true to my androgynous nature.

This experience made me take a long hard look at my inner workings. Here I am, a 29 year old confident woman doing valuable work in the community, yet I was hiding myself. I was forced to examine why this is. The outcome revealed that rather than hiding my body art when dressing for work, or feeling uncomfortable in over feminized clothing, I could find a wardrobe that works with my “permanent accessories” and keeps true to my personality.

The show didn’t air until about two months after the filming. I spent that two months growing worried as to how the producers would portray me, and enjoying my new wardrobe and hair cut, of course. They had so much footage of me that they could make me look like anybody they wanted. When I finally saw the show I was relieved to see that the producers really let the audience know who I am.

Being on TLC’s What Not To Wear was a life changing experience for me. Not too often in life am I forced to look deep inside for answers. By taking this deep look, I found some weaknesses that I could work on, and much new strength that I never knew I had. Over all I am very happy with the outcome of this major life transformation. I also must admit that shopping, which I used to despise, I now love and can’t seem to get enough of!

The Vagina Monologues

by Becca Harrington, Social Work Intern

In 1998, on Valentine’s Day, Eve Ensler and a group of women started V-Day as a non-profit organization to empower women and stop the violence that so many of them endure. Now, every year during February, March, and April, Eve Ensler gives the rights of her play, the Vagina Monologues, to groups all over the world to perform, in an effort to raise money that will benefit local agencies fighting to stop the violence against women.

On March 13th, Long Islander Laura Ruhl pulled together a cast of amazing women to honor and be a voice for all women who have faced violence simply because of their sexual anatomy. Proceeds were split up between five agencies on the Island: Pride for Youth, F.E.G.S. Positive Space, Thursday’s Child, Auntie M’s Helping Hands, and the Anti-Violence Project of Long Island.

When Laura came to Pride for Youth and explained her vision, I was ready to join the ranks. It was an honor and a privilege to work with a group of wonderful women and spread the funny, horrible, tragic, intellectual, and insightful stories of women from all over the world who are violence survivors.

For me, participating in the Vagina Monologues was about standing in solidarity with straight women, lesbian women, bisexual women, transwomen – all women – and expressing the pain that we have endured for thousands of years. It was also greatly empowering to speak frankly about the vagina, stripping away the shame and guilt that women are often forced to carry.

You might be asking what does this all have to do with the LGBT community? Well, the shame, guilt, and violence that women experience are also what many LGBT people experience. LGBT youth are sexually harassed, assaulted, taunted, and bullied daily at school, in the media, and even on the internet. LGBT people, in general, are surrounded by a society that promotes a heterosexual agenda in which being LGBT is something that happens to you and needs to be fixed. It is not that far from the idea that women are less valuable than any man and she is only capable of doing and being what is deemed appropriate. LGBT people and female-bodied individuals both live a society in which they can count on being a victim more than they can count being safe.

I want to thank Laura Ruhl for allowing me to be part of her production and for generously donating some of the proceeds to Pride for Youth.

Tune in to TLC's What Not To Wear Tonight!!

Tonight is the big night! Be sure to check out the brand new episode of What Not to Wear at 9pm on TLC, featuring PFY’s very own Community Educator, Jill Estes, getting a fabulous makeover. Filming took place in this past December and January and PFY was used as a location! Be sure to keep an eye out for some “cameos” from some other PFY staff, alumni and participants. Congratulations Jill on this exciting opportunity!

Mpowerment LI Gears Up for AIDS Walk

By Galo Cunto, Prevention Specialist

The AIDS Walk New York has been taking place since 1986 and is reported to be the largest AIDS fundraiser in the world, raising over $100 million dollars since its first event. The money raised goes to local, national and international agencies that serve people living with HIV and AIDS in a wide variety of ways. The walk is about 6.2 miles long and begins in Central Park. For 2011—AIDS Walk’s 26th annual event—the walk takes place on May 15th.

Mpowerment LI is very excited to be participating for the first time this year. We have a team that is steadily growing and highly motivated to raise money for this important cause. Mpowerment LI understands the difficulties and challenges that GBT young men face in regards to health and lifestyle. AIDS and HIV are one more element in our complex multifaceted lives, and it continues to disproportionately affect our community. Participating in AIDS Walk is an excellent way to make a difference in this epidemic, from raising donations to raising awareness.

Our goal is to raise $750. Please consider supporting our effort, whether you’d like to make a donation and/or join our team on the walk. Visit Mpowerment LI's Team Page to register to walk with us or Our Pledge Page to help us reach our fundraising goal. Thanks!

Great Neck South MIddle School GSA Gives Big Gift

Earlier today Community Educator Jill Estes and Director Pete Carney had the great pleasure to meet with the Great Neck South Middle School Gay/Straight Alliance.

This was Jill’s second time meeting with the group and today she was conducting a workshop on “Creating Strong LGBT Allies”.

About 30 young people were in attendance and enthusiastically participated. At the conclusion of the workshop the president and vice president of the GSA presented a check to Pride for Youth for $188.00, raised by the GSA through a bake sale.

Pride for Youth is so grateful for this donation which will help to fund transportation services for youth to our Coffeehouse and group programming. Huge thanks to co-coordinators Karla Krupala and Karyn Horowitz and all the students involved in the GSA for your generous donation!

Help Restore NYS Youth Funding

An important message to Pride for Youth's supporters from Andy Peters. Friends: Governor Cuomo’s 2011/2012 Executive Budget poses very serious threats to youth services. If passed by the Legislature without revision, it is very likely that state support for LICC’s hotlines and street outreach program, via the Office of Children and Families’ Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention (YDDP) and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) funding streams, will cease. Just like the 2009 Block Grant fight with Governor Paterson, the need for advocacy is urgent. The future of the hotline and street outreach is in jeopardy. Please help us raise our voice to elected officials. We won the fight in 2009, and we can do it again. But we need to generate as many letters, phone calls, etc. as possible. What You Can Do: 1. Send a letter to Governor Cuomo. Instructions and a template are included below. Feel free to personalize the letter, but all you have to do is cut and paste it to his on-line contact form. 2. Send letters to the Senate and Assembly Chairs of the Children and Families Committee. These are the key folks who will weigh in on OCFS funding, and they’ve both said they will work to restore our funding, but we need to keep the pressure on. Instructions and a template are included below. 3. Send letters to your NYS Assemblyperson and Senator. Instructions/template below. 4. Call the Governor’s phone line: (518) 474-8390 and your NYS legislators. Here’s a script: “I’m calling with a grave concern about the Executive Budget. Youth development and runaway and homeless youth funding must be restored. The proposed Primary Prevention Incentive Program Block Grant will wipe out our local safety net for troubled youth. Please take action by striking out this Block Grant from the budget, and restoring Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act funding to their 2010 levels.” 5. Schedule an appointment with your NYS legislators to tell them about these issues. 6. Let me know what you’ve done so I can keep track of our collective efforts: AJPeters@longislandcrisiscenter.org 7. Forward this message to all your friends, family members, colleagues, etc.!!! Thank you. We’ll win this fight together. Andy Letter to Governor Cuomo **Just cut and paste into his on-line contact form The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 Dear Governor Cuomo: Eliminate the Proposed PPIP Block Grant, and Restore Appropriations to RHYA, YDDP and SDPP to 2010 Levels. The State budget deficit requires sacrifices by all New Yorkers. But when it comes to cutting services, those sacrifices must take into account our responsibility to disenfranchised youth. The elimination of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention (YDDP) and Special Delinquency Prevention Program (SDDP) under the Office of Children and Families Services (OCFS), will annihilate community-based services that provide critical intervention to young people who lack family support and stand at a dangerous crossroads. This isn’t sharing the deficit burden. It’s asking troubled minors to give up everything they have: a bed at a shelter, a community center counselor, a safe place in their neighborhood to go to after school—the opportunity to turn their lives around. The alternative: the Primary Prevention Incentive Program (PPIP) Block Grant is based on a good idea—reinvest detention facility closure savings into community-based services that prevent costly residential placements. But at a mere 50% of OCFS’s current youth development funding, and competitively awarded to localities with the highest rate of residential placements, this program in no way replaces, nor does it do better than the State’s current system for supporting at-risk youth. Localities that do well preventing residential placements, since they have services in place via RHYA, YDDP and SDDP, will be penalized as they will be ineligible for funding AND they will lose those services that have kept youth from needing to be placed. The result will be more youth entering costly systems of care across the state. Moreover, the Block Grant does nothing to assist New York’s tens of thousands of runaway and homeless youth, who come from all communities—suburban, rural, urban, wealthy, working class and impoverished—and who were heretofore protected by responsible legislation and a system of regulations for their care. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Letter for Children & Families Chairs **Cut and paste to Senator Diane Savino: and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin: Dear Senator Savino/Assemblywoman Paulin: Eliminate the Proposed PPIP Block Grant, and Restore Appropriations to RHYA, YDDP and SDPP to 2010 Levels. The State budget deficit requires sacrifices by all New Yorkers. But when it comes to cuts to services, those sacrifices must take into account our responsibility to disenfranchised youth. The Governor’s proposed elimination of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), Youth Development/Delinquency Prevention (YDDP) and Special Delinquency Prevention Program (SDDP), under the Office of Children and Families Services (OCFS), will annihilate community-based services that are critical interventions to young people who lack family support and stand at a dangerous crossroads. This isn’t sharing the deficit burden. It’s asking troubled minors to give up everything they have: a bed at a shelter, a community center counselor, a safe place in their neighborhood to go to after school—the opportunity to turn their lives around. The Governor’s alternative, the Primary Prevention Incentive Program (PPIP) Block Grant, is based on a good idea—reinvest detention facility closure savings in services to prevent costly residential placements. But at a mere 50% of OCFS’s current youth development funding, and competitively awarded to localities with the highest rate of placements, the Block Grant in no way replaces, nor does it do better than the State’s current youth support system. As a supporter of Long Island Crisis Center, I know the importance of RHYA and YDDP-funded programs. Our crisis hotlines help 10,000 youth and families per year. Some are living day-to-day, sleeping in an abandoned car or on a friend’s couch when they can. Others are overwhelmed by myriad stressful life events and suicidal. Our street outreach program canvasses for disconnected teens—at high risk for gang involvement—and links them to positive alternatives, such as job training. Without RHYA and YDDP, these programs will close. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I look forward to hearing from you Letter to Your Senator and Assembly rep **Cut and paste to your appropriate representatives listed below. Dear Senator/Assemblymember: Eliminate the Proposed PPIP Block Grant, and Restore Appropriations to RHYA, YDDP and SDPP to 2010 Levels. The State budget deficit requires sacrifices by all New Yorkers. But when it comes to cuts to services, those sacrifices must take into account our responsibility to disenfranchised youth. The Governor’s proposed elimination of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), Youth Development/Delinquency Prevention (YDDP) and Special Delinquency Prevention Program (SDDP), under the Office of Children and Families Services (OCFS), will annihilate community-based services that are critical interventions to young people who lack family support and stand at a dangerous crossroads. This isn’t sharing the deficit burden. It’s asking troubled minors to give up everything they have: a bed at a shelter, a community center counselor, a safe place in their neighborhood to go to after school—the opportunity to turn their lives around. The Governor’s alternative, the Primary Prevention Incentive Program (PPIP) Block Grant, is based on a good idea—reinvest detention facility closure savings in services to prevent costly residential placements. But at a mere 50% of OCFS’s current youth development funding, and competitively awarded to localities with the highest rate of placements, the Block Grant in no way replaces, nor does it do better than the State’s current youth support system. As a supporter of Long Island Crisis Center, I know the importance of RHYA and YDDP-funded programs. Our crisis hotlines help 10,000 youth and families per year. Some are living day-to-day, sleeping in an abandoned car or on a friend’s couch when they can. Others are overwhelmed by myriad stressful life events and suicidal. Our street outreach program canvasses for disconnected teens—at high risk for gang involvement—and links them to positive alternatives, such as job training. Without RHYA and YDDP, these programs will close. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I look forward to hearing from you NYS Senators/Assembly Reps for Nassau County residents. You can look up your representatives by entering your zip code at these sites: NYS Assembly Directory NYS Senate Directory Senator Carl Marcellino Senator Kemp Hannon: (lists e-mail address only) hannon@senate.state.ny.us Senator Charles Fuschillo Senator Dean Skelos Senator Jack Martins Assemblyman Joseph Saladino Assemblyman Charles Lavine Assemblyman Brian Curran Assemblyman Michael Montesano Assemblyman Thomas McKevitt Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper: NO E-MAIL OR CONTACT FORM / PLEASE MAIL OR CALL: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Earlene-Hooper/contact/ Assemblyman David McDonough Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg Assemblyman Ed Ra All information is also available at: http://http://www.longislandcrisiscenter.org/fundingcrisis.html and on our Facebook page, which you can 'Like' If you have any questions, contact Andy at AJPeters@longislandcrisiscenter.org

PFY Joins It Gets Better!!

By Becca Harrington, Social Work Intern ‘Faggot,’ ‘dyke,’ ‘that’s so gay,’ ‘no homo’ are just a few examples of verbal harassment endured by Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) youth in schools, on the bus, and on Facebook everyday. But it doesn’t stop there. Homo-, bi- and transphobia take many forms and are daily promoted in the media, in magazines, in religious organizations, and even in our laws. It is no wonder, according to the Massachusetts Youth Risk Survey (2007) that LGB youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than youth who identify as heterosexual. Transgender (T) youth are especially targeted for harassment. Sixty-one percent report experiences of harassment, assault, and/or expulsion from school as a result of their transgender identity (The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force & The National Center for Transgender Equality, 2011). Fortunately, the media has recently picked up on the epidemic of suicide among LGBT youth and people are starting to take action. In September 2010, after a string of completed suicides by LGBT identified youth, including Tyler Clementi of Rutgers University, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage and his partner Terry started the It Gets Better Project. They simply made a video sharing their experiences growing up as gay, how difficult it was, and yet how positive their lives have turned out. Fellow LGBT folks and their straights allies were so inspired by this emotionally-driven outreach that thousands of people--including celebrities, elected officials, and youth organizations--joined in the cyber movement with their own inspirational videos. In November, PFY Director Pete Carney suggested that our agency should join the movement and make our own It Gets Better video. As an intern at Pride for Youth and a person who has personally struggled with harassment and isolation as a lesbian-identified, gender queer person, I happily offered to film, edit, and produce a video. Secretly, I always wanted to be a filmmaker of some sorts so I thought “this could be my big break!” But in all seriousness, making this film was a fulfilling and enjoyable task. I work with the staff at Pride for Youth on a regular basis and it’s easy to forget that we all struggled in the face of adversity in order to one day reach a point of stability and tranquility in our lives. And even after all the hardships, we want nothing more than to serve as a supportive outlet for the next generation of LGBT youth. To say the least, making this film has been one of the most fulfilling projects I have completed in my short six months at Pride for Youth. It is incredible to know that I work with a staff of people who are passionate and dedicated to eliminating the prejudice and hatred that has led to too many completed suicides by young LGBT people. I truly believe that the honesty and openness of the participants in the video has the potential to seriously empower and enlighten many LGBT youth who have considered or attempted suicide. The message I want to send with this video, and I think I speak on behalf of Pride for Youth, is that LGBT youth are not alone in their struggle, they are worth saving, and it will get better. I hope you enjoy the video.

My Princess Boy by Brittany Fischer

A video called "My Princess Boy" was recently posted to YouTube. It’s a clip from a show called "New Day" and talked about a new book that a mother wrote after son Dyson began showing an interest in wearing woman's clothing and acting like a princess. Dyson’s family was very accepting and responded to the situation in the best way they could have. His school was also accepting and made sure that Dyson felt comfortable and safe at school, seeing the situation as an opportunity to teach children about diversity. Sadly, the video received many nasty comments on YouTube. Here’s one: "If they were my neighbor I would had beat the f@#$ out the father and mother…[they] should be in prison, then put them in hospital for having dysfunctional brain, the father is bitch in man body." Here’s another: "F#$&@# White Devil!!!!, only he encourages this kinda homosexuality. Lord knows that boy's gonna be gay, but I prey that he can turn his fascination around and use it to attract all the little girls in all his days of school to come. I'm gonna have to prey for his father as well, because I'm sure that once him and his family starts making a decent amount of money, he's gonna kill her and take it all, and make his son do drugs and lose his virginity @ 8." One comment even accuses the parents of child abuse: "This is child abuse! This mother probably wanted a lil girl because she already has an older boy. The father seems like he could careless. The mother coaches this kid on every talk show. Little kids want what they see around them they gravitate towards familar things which is basic early childhood developement. No one plays with dolls in his house (according to the mom) and there are NO female children around him (according to the mom) so where is the influence? His MOM. child abuse!" These comments really disturbed me. I am a sophomore in college, and I have studied the developmental domains and norms of children. What Dyson decides to wear doesn't mean anything about his gender identity or sexual orientation. Children don't understand gender roles or what is deemed acceptable in society. The way people are responding to this is disgusting! In my opinion, Dyson is lucky to have accepting parents rather than some of the ignorant people in this world who wouldn't accept him for who he is. There should be no problem with a boy wearing a dress, or pink, or sparkles. There should be no problem if he wants to be a ballerina or a baker or a nurse. If a girl wants to wear baggy clothes and have short hair, she should be able to and if she wants to be a police officer or a fire fighter, she should be allowed to pursue these interests. Resorting to violence because a child innocently picks up something that sparkles and is pretty is horrible. It is natural for a child to respond positively to something that sparkles and glows. I have seen many children playing with "girly" clothes and costumes and toys and to say that all of these children are going to end up being gay or transgender is ridiculous. If Dyson’s parents told him he couldn't wear "girl” clothes, it wouldn't have stopped him from liking it. It would make him feel insecure and unaccepted. Many people who commented on the video said it’s a parent's job to control their children. This is not exactly true. Children develop important aspects of their personality at different ages, and you are supposed to let a child do what they want naturally while making sure they are safe. Dyson is at the age where children begin to discover who they are, and it’s important that he receive positive feedback on how he expresses himself in order to develop in a healthy manner with self-esteem. To the people who say Dyson will regret this when he is older, I disagree. If I were Dyson, I would be proud of my parents for standing up for me, allowing me to be myself, and educating others so that other children will not feel alone and they will know there are people who love them for who they are. I think it was a great idea to make the story of this child into a book, and I hope to get a copy of it to have in my classroom one day. We need more children’s books that promote acceptance and equality. Some people responded negatively to the video because of their religious beliefs. My understanding is the bible says god loves all his children and that murder is wrong. God is the only one who has the right to judge because no one is perfect. I'm not a religious person, but I believe that god would want people to be who they are. I also believe that god would want everyone to accept others for who they are and treat them with kindness and respect, even if they don't agree with how that person may be acting. No one deserves to be treated poorly and criticized and discriminated against because they dare to be themselves. Everyone is different, and special, and unique, and no one should be ashamed of who they really are on the inside. If you wish to view the video "My Princess Boy" you can follow the link below. Let me know what you think! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBBffc0Rtc8 Brittany Fischer is a sophomore at SUNY College at Fredonia and has been an active member of PFY’s Coffeehouse since ?. The article above reflects the writer’s viewpoint and not necessarily the viewpoint or position of Pride for Youth.

Macy's Supports MPowerment

Pride for Youth recently received $2,000 from Macy’s in support of Mpowerment. This money will be used to pay for program incentives and transportation reimbursement so that more young men can participate. Macy’s Corporate Giving program provides millions of dollars annually to charities across the country. The company’s focus areas are arts and culture, education, the environment, HIV/AIDS and women’s issues. This contribution will go a long way, and we thank Macy’s for their very generous support!

The Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell = huge voctory for the United States and the LGBT community

As you may be aware, Congress voted to repeal the military’s discriminatory policy of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) in late December and President Obama quickly signed the repeal into law. We apologize for this delayed reaction—we’ve all been very busy here at PFY—but we couldn’t let this news pass by without acknowledging how enormously significant this legislation is to LGBT youth on Long Island, LGBT people everywhere, and really, everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation. Young people enlist in the military for many different reasons—to serve their country, for financial opportunity, and to further their education and/or career. LGBT’s have always been part of the military, but they have served at a terrible price. They had to hide their identity, their marriages, their families and their relationships from others due to a policy of exclusion. They were subjected to entrapment, threats, discharge without honor or benefits, physical attacks, and even murders because of the military’s hostile attitude toward them. The vote to repeal DADT does not go into immediate effect; the military is currently working out how to implement “integration” of LGBT personnel. But the policy will be gone very soon, and LGBT youth will be able to take advantage of the opportunities the military provides, with equal access, for the first time in U.S. history. In President Obama’s words, “By ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love.” This is a moment in history and a huge celebration for the LGBT community and our allies. For more information, The Huffington Post published this great article regarding the repeal. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/18/dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal_5_n_798636.html

Mpowerment in Action: Our first MGroup!! By Galo Cunto

Mpowerment has an exciting event coming up on Wednesday, February 2nd: our first MGroup!! MGroups are dynamic, single, discussion-based sessions that literally save young men’s lives. They do this by providing medically-accurate, gay sex-specific information and the chance to role play critical scenarios that commonly come up in our lives. In Mgroup, we discuss topics that aren’t openly talked about in school and even beyond school. In health class, you may learn about sex and sexuality but always in terms of non-gay sex and relationships. Furthermore, our parents may not have the answers to the questions that we have about sex, and—let’s face it—it’s hard enough coming out, let alone talking to mom or dad about sex with your boyfriend. The Mgroup is our place to get educated about what’s relevant to us, ask questions (nothing is out of bounds) and learn how to have a better, healthier dating and/or sexual relationship. The Mgroup is also an opportunity for guys to meet, get to know each other, make friends and learn from each other. Questions are posed that open up amazing dialogue between guys regarding their experiences with dating and sex. Then, we role play tough situations. How do you negotiate safe sex with a partner who insists on not using a condom? What if this partner is someone you just met? What if it’s your boyfriend? What if one or both of you have been drinking or using drugs? How do you talk to a friend whose sexual behavior is putting him at risk? Many of us have been in these situations and sometimes we’re too embarrassed to talk about it or afraid of hurting someone else’s feelings. MGroup is a safe place to work these things out, realistically and without judgment. HIV has plagued the gay community for over 30 years, and it’s apparent that it will be around for some years to come. The best tools we have to combat HIV are education and positive attitudes toward safer sex. This is why the Mgroup is so powerful. Participants leave the group empowered with education and thinking positively about how they can lead their lives as gay men—including dating and relationships—with pride, confidence, health and wellness. As graduates, they leave the group with a big responsibility: take what they have learned to their friends so that more men think about the choices that they make. So if you have 10 guys in a group, and each of them talk to at least 2 other people, you have actually helped 30 gay men lead healthier lives. Participating in MGroup is a way to help the whole community, and it’s not your typical safe sex lecture. We make it a lot of fun! If you want to join the MGroup on February 2nd (5:00-8:00PM, 2050 Bellmore Ave., Bellmore, NY 11710), contact me to register: GCunto@longislandcrisiscenter.org or (516) 679-9000, ext. 123 or you can also get connected through our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/mpowermentLi. Just ask to friend us!! (MGroup is for guys 17-24 only)

Need Money for College? Two Opportunities for LGBT students by Andy Peters

Of course you do. Who doesn’t? Beyond the academic achievement-based scholarships, tuition assistance programs, and government grants available to any qualifying student, LGBT youth should know about two scholarships specifically dedicated to helping them further their education. The Bill Borman Memorial Scholarship will award $3,000 to a local college-bound high school senior, recent graduate (G.E.D. is Ok) or current college student for the 2011/2012 year. The selection committee is looking for openly LGBT students who have shown leadership and community service in the area of LGBT rights and/or HIV/AIDS. Past winners include PFY alumna Julie Kaer who advocated within the agency for more transgender education and support and was active at Coffeehouse and at Nassau Community College’s P.R.I.D.E. student group. The website: http://billbormanfund.org will give you more information about this opportunity as well as the downloadable application. The application deadline is March 17, 2011. Live Out Loud will provide four college-bound students with scholarships of $2,500 each this year. According to its website: http://livoutloud.info, the scholarships will go to LGBT students who have a strong capacity to “Live Out Loud” and who demonstrate leadership skills in their school and in their community. Live Out Loud is based in NYC, but the competition is open throughout the metro area and they have awarded scholarships to Long Island students in the past. PFY alumni and former peer educator Nelson Rodriguez is a past winner for having started his high school’s first-ever Gay/Straight Alliance and educating students, faculty and adults who work with youth about homophobia. Live Out Loud scholarship winners are treated to a sleek reception in Manhattan (last year’s event was hosted by Alan Cumming). If you’re planning on going to college next year and active at an LGBT organization or at your school’s GSA, you’re a great candidate for both of these awards. If you’re not yet a senior, here’s another reason to get involved in LGBT activism: being active can pay off. Start building up a portfolio of things you’ve done in your school and your community. It will put you in position for LGBT scholarship money AND help your college applications. Send questions or comments to: AJPeters@longislandcrisiscenter.org.

Reflection on the past year at Pride for Youth by Jill Estes

As the new year begins we like to look back at the past year and see our good times and accomplishments. 2010 was a huge year for Pride for Youth. We were packed full of events and awards alongside the wide array of services that we always provide for LGBT youth here on Long Island. We had a lot of good times, had many triumphs and saw history change before our eyes. Any non-profit agency has to do their full part in fundraising. The same is true here at Pride for Youth. This year we were very fortunate to build solid partnerships to help us with this funding effort. May 1st we partnered up with the Long Island Pride Chorus for fundraiser at Kelli’s Bar and Grille in Bellmore, a huge supporter of Pride for Youth. Then in October we were back at Kelli’s with the amazing support of two very talented musicians, Marcy Lang and A. J. Shanti who entranced the crowd with their music helping raise over $1500. Another great partnership built this year was with the Bellmore Production of Rent, who came in to speak to our youth at Coffeehouse and raised over $1000 for the agency while their play was running. A former participant put up a production of his own play, Sticky Tags and Black Sharpies to benefit Pride for Youth. Pride for Youth is very grateful to have received the Paul Rapoport grant of $50,000, the largest contribution to date. We were also very grateful to have received a 5 year grant from The New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute, which has given us the opportunity to extend our services even further into the community. All of this funding is essential for the services we provide in our community. We hit the road a lot this year as well. On March 15th we took our dedicated group of peer educators up to Albany for the annual youth leadership conference sponsored by Family Planning Advocates (FPA) of New York State. In June over 100 kids joined us marching in the annual Long Island Pride Parade. Following that parade there were performances on stage in the park where a few of our talented kids had the opportunity to perform. In July we rounded up 16 of our youth for our annual camping trip in the Boston/Cape Cod area. Very strong friendships were built and a lot of fun was had by all. There were a few awards won as well. Pride for Youth won the Auntie M’s Helping Hands Community service award for Outstanding GLBT organization. Pride for Youth also won Best Organization at the Annual Outlook Awards. We were also recognized by the Empire State Pride Agenda for leading the way to safer schools for LGBT youth vis-à-vis advocacy for New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act. Many more exciting things happened this year at Pride for Youth. Pride for Youth hosted our very first Family Night, giving the families of our participants the opportunity to get to know the agency a little better. Our participant, Britney, produced a showing of the hit play Dog Sees God right here at Coffeehouse. Also we were happy to hire a new round of Program Leaders who have been working hard to educate their peers on deep issues that need attention. On behalf of all of us here at Pride for Youth we would like to thank every person and organization that helped us to strive in the community. Without the help we would not be able to provide the wide array of services that make us an important support for the LGBT community on Long Island.

Mpowerment comes to Long Island!! By Galo Cunto

Hey there! This is my first blog post, and I was asked to introduce PFY's visitors to an important program that's underway for young gay and bisexual men. First, about me...I've been working at PFY for about a year as the Prevention Specialist. Prior to that, I was doing HIV outreach, education and counseling/testing to gay men, primarily Latinos, in Queens. That program was called Mpowerment, and I was very excited about the opportunity to conduct similar work in Nassau County. PFY's Mpowerment program started in June 2010, and I was assigned to coordinate it. This is a program I can really get behind because I have seen how effective it is in promoting healthier behavior and building community. Mpowerment began on the West Coast in the early 90's, and it was the first HIV prevention intervention certified by the Centers for Disease Control as being effective at reducing HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men. The program has been replicated across the country. It was created by the Center for AIDS Prevention at the University of California/San Francisco, and they estimate that there are 70 Mpowerment programs in operation, in virtually every region of the U.S., from NYC to Los Angeles, and from Miami to Anchorage, Alaska. PFY's Mpowerment is the first time the program has been conducted on Long Island. I had the chance to go to a three-day training in September, and I met people who were running programs in Denver, New Orleans, Minneapolis and many other places. In a nutshell, Mpowerment has four components: a Core Group of young men, formal outreach such as bar 'zaps' and fun program-sponsored events that bring guys together, informal outreach that occurs one-to-one, and HIV workshops called M-Groups. I run Mpowerment with two of PFY's Program Leaders: Chris and Jeff. In October, we brought together about ten guys ages 17-24 to participate in our weekly Core Group. The Core Group is basically the centralized decision making body of the program. We have meetings every Wednesday from 6pm to 8pm to discuss how to reach out to other young gay/bi men and to plan events. For example, we started a Facebook account (Facebook.com/MpowermnentLi) where we can get information out, and we utilize Adam4Adam.com to identify and engage with guys in Nassau County who are in the age range. Just last week we held our first bar 'zap' at Gation where we handed out candy and condoms as part of a holiday themed outreach to create a buzz around our project and to get guys interested. We've got a lot of ideas for the New Year including coming up with our own logo, our own name (Mpowerment-LI is our temporary name, but we'd like something a little catchier), hosting a speed dating event, holding our first HIV workshop, and future seasonal and festive events. Our mission is to involve as many young gay/bisexual men in Nassau County as we can, so if you have ideas, drop me a line: GCunto@longislandcrisiscenter.org.