LifeWorks Mentoring to Become Program of L.A. Gay & Lesb...( Together the Two Organizations Will S...),Health

Together the Two Organizations Will Serve a Wide Range of LGBT Youth, From those on the Streets to those in School

LOS ANGELES, June 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Uniting two leading organizations serving LGBT youth, Los Angeles-based LifeWorks Mentoring will become a program of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, announced LifeWorks Executive Director and Co-Founder Michael Ferrera, with Center Chief Executive Officer Lorri L. Jean, at LifeWorks' annual Life Out Loud awards benefit on Saturday, June 13.

Ferrera, who developed LifeWorks into the country's most successful mentoring organization for LGBT youth, will join the Center's Children, Youth & Family Services department on July 1 and will continue to lead LifeWorks with his existing team and with the active support of the LifeWorks board of directors, which will become an advisory council of the program.

"LifeWorks has grown at a rapid pace and the demand for our services, from youth between the ages of 14 and 24 all over Los Angeles, has never been greater," says Ferrera. "As a program of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, we'll be in a much stronger position to meet the demand. We'll be a perfect complement to the Center's existing services for LGBT youth. And fortunately, the financial health of LifeWorks has never been stronger -- both of our most recent major events exceeded revenue projections."

To serve the estimated 3,000-5,000 homeless LGBT youth in Los Angeles, the Center operates the Jeff Griffith Youth Center in Hollywood and a 30-bed residence, which offers overnight stays for youth in immediate crisis and an 18-month home for youth to develop the skills, resources and confidence to live on their own through a structured Transitional Living Program. The Griffith Youth Center is open seven days a week and offers three meals a day, clothing, showers, counseling, a GED preparation program and much more.

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