Los Angeles YOUTH Network: Empowering Homeless Adolescents

The Los Angeles Youth Network provides street outreach, emergency shelter, food, education, and transitional living options in a safe environment. Over 7,500 homeless adolescents will sleep on the streets of Los Angeles nightly, where they are at risk to falling to drugs, prostitution, and disease – predominantly HIV/AIDS.

LAYN wants to bring these adolescents out of their violent, filthy squats where most grow up to be on welfare or criminals. Since 1984 they have worked to end homeless one teenager at a time who has been abused, neglected, and abandoned. They want each homeless adolescent to transition completely out of street life and push towards functioning in society permanently.

Homeless Youth and Teenagers Statistics

• Over 1.3 million youth are homeless at any given time each year.
• 1 out of 8 adolescents under 18 will run away from home and become homeless, needing help from charities.
• 12-17 year olds are at a higher risk of becoming homeless than adults are.
• Before leaving home, 43% of the homeless adolescence report being beaten with 25% requesting sexual activity.
• 65% of emancipated foster youth lack stable housing.

The importance of charities like the Los Angeles YOUTH Network

Give Back to the Los Angeles YOUTH Network

There are many ways to give back to the Los Angeles YOUTH Network. Volunteering can be a long term or short term commitment; you can work doing recreation, administrative duties, day projects, fundraising events, educational programs, street outreach, meal sponsorship or mentor programs. See other volunteer opportunities with LAYN and sign up.

You can also donate to the Los Angeles Youth Network if you don’t have time for volunteering. As little as $5 feeds youth for a day.

To contact the Los Angeles Youth Network you can call 323-467-8466 or reach them at 1754 Taft Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028. Their email is info@layn.org.

My Friend’s Place: A Place to be Safe, A Place to Belong

The mission of My Friend’s Place is to assist and inspire homeless youth to build self-sufficient lives.

My Friend’s Place is a nonprofit resource center that gives free emergency resources like food, clothing, health services, education, and therapeutic to over 1,800 homeless youth and their children per year.  Their mission is to push Los Angeles’ homeless youth to build self-sufficient lives. What started as a mobile meal program, My Friend’s Place now works to meet the challenges of the abandoned homeless youth well beyond hunger. The social services they provide reach thousands of youth from 12 to 25 per year.

My Friend’s Place: Truly Unique

My Friend’s Place is not government or religiously affiliated and they are 99% funded. Overall, they are one of the most visited Resource Centers for the homeless youth in Southern California.

For homeless teens and homeless youth, the stigma that people associate with this demographic is enough to cause shame and deter these people away from looking for help. My Friend’s Place minimizes the social barriers that usually discourage people to looking for help. They also reduce the high risk behaviors that are so commonly adopted by youth living on the streets of Los Angeles.

Help Out a Teenager in Need

The best way to give back to My Friend’s Place is to become a member either online (Online Giving Form) or through mailing a donation to My Friend’s Place, Membership Program, P.O. Box 3867, Hollywood, CA 90078.  A gift as small as $50 will give someone in need transportation to and from a job interview, and a gift as large as $5,000 provides one-on-one therapy twice a week for an entire year for a teenager suffering from a mental illness.

L.A. GOAL: Opportunities for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

L.A. GOAL is working to provide services to hundreds of adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Serving over 350 people total, L.A. GOAL arose as a reaction to families with disabled children graduating from high school. At first it was a social club that would teach these adolescents about money and the essentials of daily life, and then it transformed into a place that involves disabled adults into focusing on self sufficiency and self advocacy.

L.A. GOAL serves adults with Autism, Down Syndrome, Mental Retardation and neurological problems such as Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy. Their programs include ways to move people with developmental disabilities into being fully participating members of society while challenging them educationally and creatively.

Giving Back to L.A. GOAL

You can always donate to L.A. GOAL or register with Ralph’s to give them a portion of all of your purchases made with your Ralph’s Club Card. First, log onto the Club Card Program website, type in their NPO number which is 81413, and fill out the given info about yourself. Their Federal Tax ID number is 23-7269692. If you have any questions about donating contact Laura O’Neal at 310-838-5274 or email her at info@lagoal.org.

Getting involved with L.A. GOAL is easy. Contact Margaret Goodenough for volunteers in the art and sewing studio at iop@insideoutproductions.com or 310-838-5274. You can contact Cathy Reed or Petite Konstantin at info@lagoal.org or 310-838-5274 for more information about volunteer opportunities with their Independent Living Skills program. For more information, visit the L.A. GOAL website.

You can also donate to their Wish List.

Dress for Success: Suits to Self-Sufficiency

Dress for Success works to promote the economic independence of at-risk, disadvantaged women. Providing professional attire and a network of support, Dress for Success works to give women the tools they need to develop their careers and gain self-sufficiency.

The Los Angeles affiliate branch of Dress for Success is the Dress for Success Worldwide – West headquarters. Low-income women are their focus and their goal is to remove these women from public assistance. Suits provide confidence, and help women look their best.

Dress for Success Statistics

Of the women Dress for Success assists:

• 40% are African American
• 37% are Hispanic
• 13% are Caucasian
• 2% are Asian
• 79% are mothers
• 76% are single mothers
• 15% are divorced, separated, or widowed

Volunteer and Donate to Dress for Success

There are a lot of volunteer opportunities at Dress for Success. From Image Consultants, to Career Coaches, Dress for Success is looking for volunteers to help women get their careers on track. You need to fill out the volunteer application and then send it to adriana@dressforsuccess.org.

If you don’t have time to volunteer you can always donate money or clothing. To donate money, click here. $50 sponsors one woman in the Suiting Program and provides her professional attire before her first interview.

You can also donate clothing. They accept clothing donations each month on the second Saturday of each month from 9:30 am to 12 pm at 1680 N. Vine, Suite 900 in Hollywood in the Taft building at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. You should pull up to the 5 min loading zone, park your car, and come in to the 9th floor. Volunteers can help you carry your clothing up. You can also park in metered street parking. For a list of what they accept, click here.

Contact Dress for Success Los Angeles at 323.461.1021 or email them at worldwidewest@dressforsuccess.org. They are located at 1680 N. Vine Street Suite 900, Hollywood, CA 90028.

Los Angeles House of Ruth: Empowering Women, Changing Lives

The Los Angeles House of Ruth has experience helping women in emergency situations. They say that most of the women that they encounter have recently left their abusive husbands with nowhere to live, nothing to eat, and children to support. House of Ruth works to give women not only a place to stay, but also the life skills to live independent, successful lives.

“Our program is so successful that we have a 95% success rate in keeping families off the streets for the rest of their lives ensuring positive futures for their families and future generations.”

Since 1978, the House of Ruth has been one of a few specialized shelters in Los Angeles. They offer an environment that resembles a home, and give immediate attention to children who suffer from the consequences of chaotic, toxic environments. The Los Angeles House of Ruth offers both women and children a “new way of life.”

Special Circumstances Call for Your Immediate Attention!

2010 has been an especially tough year for the House of Ruth in Los Angeles with the need for homeless assistance rising by 50% and the donations decreasing by 30% leaving them with a shortfall of $150,000 for the year.

If they do not raise that money, they will be forced to close one of their four shelter houses and put homeless families back on the street.

Campaign 15 is a push to raise $150,000 in 15 days. They say that for the cost of two lattes and a bagel, you can keep families off the streets and help women and children in their journey to living successful lives.

Donate now to the Los Angeles House of Ruth to save one of their shelters.

To get in touch with the Los Angeles House of Ruth, email them directly at Ruth33288@aol.com or call the office at 323-266-4139. You can also send them mail at PO Box 33288, Los Angeles, CA 90033.