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.