The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Youth Services Department has provided shelter and meals, material support, and supportive services as components of a comprehensive life stabilization efforts for more than 20 years. The Kruks/Tilsner Transitional Living Program and the Jeff Griffith Youth Center are at the heart of the Youth Services Department. These programs provide everything from basic provisions such 3 meals a day, showers, laundry and clothes, to more comprehensive services including transitional living services and counseling for runaway, homeless, and throwaway youth and young adults up to age 24. The Youth Services Department focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth who do not always experience safety in predominantly heterosexual environments and whose unique needs are sometimes overlooked at other agencies. The self-empowerment of youth stands as the ultimate goal of the Youth Services Department. We believe that youth are full participants and equal partners in the creation, development, and implementation of services. All youth have the right to a safe, secure, nurturing living environment in which they can develop in a manner that allows them to maximize their full potential physically, socially, emotionally, spiritually, educationally, and culturally. On any given day or night there are an estimated 4,000 - 6,000 youth living on the streets of Los Angeles who self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and have been forced onto the streets due to homophobia in their homes, schools, and communities. Once they find themselves on the streets, they often turn to survival sex, drugs, pornography and theft. HIV infection, rape, abuse and incarceration become part of their daily lives. Services for homeless youth are scarce or not in an environment sensitive to the needs of LGBTQ youth. Supportive services that are offered on-site include individual case management, weekly independent living skills groups, weekly individual counseling, HIV/AIDS testing and treatment, general medical care, employment readiness skills, legal consultation, clothing, and personal hygiene items. In addition, the department offers various social, recreational and self-development groups and transportation assistancebus tokens and as well as van transport. The Youth Services Department works in conjunction with the many other on-site departments to provide this comprehensive package of services. All support services are available and scheduled as needed and as determined by each client individualized case plan. The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center coordinates with a range of private and public agencies in the Los Angeles and Hollywood area to provide a continuum of care specifically for homeless and runaway youth which includes free clinics, mobile health units, shelters, counseling and case management services, drop-in and outreach programs. The Gay & Lesbian Center participates in an interagency network of youth-serving agencies such as Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership (HHYP), Children's Hospital Los Angeles, The L.A. Free Clinic, Los Angeles Youth Network, Teen Canteen (Travelers Aid Society), The Way IN (Salvation Army), Covenant House, Options House, Angel's Flight and My Friends Place. We also maintain referral relationships with various adult service agencies, such as PATH and The Hollywood Access Center, to assure referral capability beyond the night-to-night emergency beds. Additionally, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center works with L.A. Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Department of Mental Health (DMH), Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Hollywood Division, Local High and Middle Schools who accept and provide referrals for residential placement, and L.A. County DCFS-funded Runaway Adolescent Project (RAP). To contact the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Youth Services Department, call Locations L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Jeff Griffith Youth Center
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