Our underlying philosophy that free and confidential help is a fundamental right, no matter who you are or what your needs may be, has positioned Long Island Crisis Center as a leader in addressing emerging health and social issues. When there is a population that is underserved, overlooked and challenged by stigma and isolation, Long Island Crisis Center is there to advocate and, when appropriate, provide needed services.
As providers of anonymous, non-judgmental services, our hotline counselors have always been keenly aware of the pain and isolation of teenagers coming to terms with being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Since the early 1970’s, we have fielded calls from kids who were kicked out of their homes, considering suicide, and feeling like they had nowhere to turn. For many years, Long Island Crisis Center was the only agency in the region to specifically outreach to LGBT youth, even putting funding in jeopardy at times due to the public’s lack of understanding of the cause.
In 1993, we created Pride for Youth in response to the severe gap in services to LGBT youth. What started as a single support group for six to eight youth each week has grown into a multi-service program addressing many of LGBT teenagers’ needs and serving over 500 youth each year. Pride for Youth’s mission is to enhance the health, wellness and cultural competency of LGBT youth through education, youth development and supportive services.
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Our hotline is the point of entry for Nassau County’s runaway and homeless youth services system. But many teenagers who runaway or get kicked out of their homes don’t reach out for help. That’s why Long Island Crisis Center launched its Street Outreach Project. A mobile outreach unit with specially trained workers takes services where homeless young people are at: parks, bus and train stations and street corners in the County’s highest need communities. Through school partnerships, we outpost workers in middle and high schools to intervene with students at risk of dropping out of school and/or becoming homeless.
Another goal of the Street Outreach Project is to prevent youth violence and gang involvement. The True Colors Initiative educates young people about the dangers of gang involvement through one-to-one contact with teenagers on the street as well as peer education and classroom presentations. True Colors helps gang-involved youth safely dissolve their gang affiliations, through emergency relocation when necessary, and directs them to employment and training opportunities.
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In 2007, two 20-year-old female college students from Long Island, Carol Kestenbaum and Nicole Schiffman, were murdered in Arizona by an emotionally disturbed young man who also ultimately killed himself. While we still grieve the horrific and preventable loss of two promising young women, the tragedy has sparked a mental health awareness campaign that we are proud to be co-sponsoring with the Nicole Schiffman Foundation.
Always on the cutting edge of providing human services, Long Island Crisis Center recognizes that too often depression and mental illness in young people lead to violence, self-injury or suicide. We will be urging teens, through video ads and Web 2.0, the latest in online technology and design, to “look closer” at their friends to recognize signs of trouble and support them in getting help.
The campaign begins with a series of short video ads that will air on cable television and video-sharing websites, such as
YouTube, and direct viewers to the official website (lookcloseronline.com). The ads feature young people in distress, yet hiding it from their peers. These youth will become a “cast of characters” who will appear on the website, with profiles similar to ones on social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace. Trained crisis counselors, posing as concerned friends, will post messages to these characters with supportive words and links to mental health resources, including a link to LICC’s online live, anonymous counseling.
Although the site will not be interactive, it will be an exciting and engaging new way for young people to learn constructive ways to help a friend in need and learn where to go for help. And with new characters and profiles added periodically, a broad range of issues facing young people today can be addressed.
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