Doors Opening NOW for COLORS, LGBT Youth Counseling and Community Center Offers an Affirmative Healing Space

for LGBTQ Youth

Antioch University Los Angeles LGBT Specialization Trained Affirmative Counselors provide free services to community that lacks sufficient resources and support Doors Open January Los Angeles, Calif. January 18, 2012 Antioch University Los Angeles LGBT Specialization in Clinical Psychology, the first such specialization of its kind in the country, has joined together with Pueblo Nuevo Development, to form COLORS, a comprehensive LGBT Youth Counseling and Community center to combat the epidemic of suicides and bullying among Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgendered/Trans-sexual and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth. In a remarkable display of Antioch University living its mission of Social Justice, the LGBT Specialization is working with Pueblo Nuevo Development Corporation (PND) to offer this underserved population and their families counseling, psychotherapy, support, and eventually advocacy and academic support free of charge. COLORS is committed to creating a world where LGBTQ youth are valued, embraced and invited to contribute to their full potential. According to the same U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report, LGBT youth are two to six times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth with suicide being the leading cause of death among gay and lesbian youth. LGBT Youth are also at much higher risk than the heterosexual population for alcohol and drug abuse. LGBTQ youth are also at greater risk for school failure than heterosexual children. With COLORS we hope to reduce the isolation that LGBTQ youth feel, says, Douglas Sadownick, Ph.D., Director of AULAs LGBT Specialization. We are building a safe and affirmative space that values and celebrates diversity. We have seven training affirmative counselors who will provide a special kind of counseling derived from several generations of LGBT Affirmative Theory and Practice. We intend to start with counseling of individuals, groups and families but eventually we also hope to cultivate LGBTQ Youth Leaders and

Empowerment projects based in affirmative theory and practice. We are proud to have the PND community behind as and also to have the Antioch University Counseling Center as our Clinical Training Site, making Colors an Antioch University Initiative. This is the first time counselors trained in Affirmative Theory and Practice will be able to reach out to students and present a vision of social activism combined with psychological mindfulness and profound healing and transformation which is at the heart of our mission! Doors open now for LGBT Youth aged 14-24 starting January 8. Colors will have two private views on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 6:00-7:30 p.m. and Sunday February 5, 1:00-3:00 p.m. To schedule an appointment contact: info@colorsyouth.org. To learn more: www.colorsyouth.org. Antioch University Los Angeles LGBT Specialization Program in Clinical Psychology is the first graduate psychology specialization devoted to training students to develop expertise in the area of LGBT-affirmative psychotherapy, counseling and community work for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. Antiochs LGBT Specialization ensures that future Marriage and Family Therapists invested in providing support to members of the LGBT community are prepared with cutting edge developments in LGBT-Affirmative theory and practice. Pueblo Nuevo Development was formed in 1993 as part of a grass roots effort to develop social and economic capital within the Latin-American immigrant community of the MacArthur Park neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles. Beginning in 1999, PND initiated a school-anchored community development strategy founding the Camino Nuevo Academies (CNCA). Antioch University Los Angeles (AULA) provides a rigorous progressive education to prepare students for the complexities of today's diverse societies. AULA, a not-for-profit institution, has served the greater Los Angeles area since 1972. The core values of social justice, service to the community and lifelong learning lie at the heart of the B.A. degree completion program and masters degree programs in organizational management, education and teacher credentialing, psychology, creative writing and urban sustainability. AULA is part of the Antioch University system which has roots dating back to 1852. Inspired by the work of pioneering educator Horace Mann, Antioch University was founded in 1964 and serves over 5,000 adult students around the world and across the country, online and at five campuses in four states. Media Contact: Karen Hamilton, khamilton1@antioch.edu cell: 310-804-3795 # # #