In
1993, Long Island Crisis Center started Pride for Youth at a time when support
and outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth on Long
Island was virtually non-existent. Pride for Youth has grown to encompass multiple
services addressing many of the needs of LGBT youth and their families.
Pride for
Youth created the Coffeehouse program in 1995 – the first suburban
coffeehouse for LGBT youth in the country.
We began airing
public service announcements on MTV in the mid 90’s - one of the first
mass media outreach strategies for LGBT youth nationwide.
In 2001, Pride
for Youth launched an action research project, which documented that 94%
of Long Island students are exposed to homophobia in their schools and one
in ten have been victimized because of their perceived sexual orientation.
With the new
millennium’s startling HIV resurgence among young gay and bisexual
men of color, Pride for Youth leads the way to building a healthier generation
of young people through its culturally-sensitive Young Men’s Program
targeted to Long Island’s highest need communities.
