It is the mission of LA Youth Supportive Services, Inc. to do whatever is necessary to insure that the youth we serve will have all the professional support, guidance, life-skills, and education they need to successfully navigate through the minefield called adolescence and emerge as successful adults.
Many of our youth have been cast out of their families or left out ofself-protection. In having to fend for themselves, they are being robbed oftheir adolescence by being forced to become adults long before they havefinished being kids. We believe that all youth should, unconditionally, havefood, shelter and loving, supportive parents and elders so that they canconcentrate on going to school, dating, having fun and learning thelife-skill lessons necessary for later life.
We act as both caring mental health professionals and surrogate family untilwe can get them into a stable surrogate family environment. To whateverdegree their natural families are not being loving, caring and supportive,we feel it is our obligation to do so.
Here's what makes our program different from other organizations that serve these youth:
1. We use only counselors who are licensed or who are supervised by licensed, Masters'-level mental health counseling professionals.
2. Our professional counseling staff do their own outreach, working right out on the streets where these youth congregate and where many of them live.
3. The youth we serve have 24 hour per day, 7 day per week access to counselors that they already know and trust!
Read letters from youth we've helped! |
| How you can help | Professional info about our methods | Who we are | Resources for youth and parents |
| Newspaper Articles | Poems by Our Clients | How to Really Win the War On Drugs | Alcohol & Drugs: How Much Is Too Much? |
If you're a youth in crisisHere's where you can find assistance:
If you're a gay teen who feels like you're the only one, you're not! Here's the Cool Page for Gay Teens that has tons of resources just for people like you! Lots of people to talk to, other gay teens to meet, counselors who can REALLY help, and lots of fun things to do.
If you need immediate assistance, you can call us toll free at l-877-GO LAYSS(465-2977). You can also call Out Youth Austin. They have a hotline you can call for free from anywhere in the U.S. It's staffed, 5:30-9:30PM, CST, by teens who know what you're going through and are trained to assist. Call them at 1-800-96-YOUTH. They also have a message service for street teens to help them get and send messages to friends and relatives. If you're still at home, a call to them will be private and the call won't show up on a phone bill.
If you're a youth engaged in survival sex or prostitution, and are looking for a way out, call us at 1-l-877-GO LAYSS(465-2977), if you are in the Los Angeles,CA area or call the Children Of The Night National Hotline at 1-800-551-1300. The folks there can refer you to local resources to assist you in getting out of that situation.
If you are a young person 25 or younger, living in the Los Angeles, CA metropolitan area, all our services are available to you. We offer:
Call 213-962-1911 or toll free 1-l-877-GO LAYSS(465-2977) If you get our voice mail and you are in crisis, you can always contact Jason Wittman, our Executive Director on his cell phone at 213-804-4408 (you can call his cell phone toll free at 1-877-44-JASON(445-2766) or by paging him at 213-882-5625 any time day or night!! |
Please write to Jason Wittmanwith your comments and questions
Copyright © 1996, Los Angeles Youth Support Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
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