I headed down to Trump National Golf Course in Palos Verdes on Saturday night to catch up with Gilles and Donal as they were hosting a charity poker tournament for the Los Angeles Youth Network.
LAYN’s mission is to help abused, neglected and homeless adolescents become self-sufficient.
We do this by providing street outreach, food, emergency shelter and transitional living programs, with a professional, caring staff in a nurturing and safe environment.
There was a great turnout of people, lots of support for LAYN and there were a couple of bracelets on the table to the nights winners for entries into World Series of Poker tournaments. It’s always nice to give back, and there were a lot of people committed to this Saturday night.
Some more pics and info about LAYN after the jump.
Donal deep in thought
I think this was around the time that Gilles started going on a nice little run
The view…
More on LAYN -
One youth at a time, our youth leave home. They leave alcoholic and drug dependent families; homes where physical and sexual abuses are as ordinary as breakfast. They do not always leave of their own volition. Sometimes they are thrown out or abandoned on the street. Of the 12-17 year old runaways we see, most of their parents never report them missing.
As many as 13,000 homeless youths live on the streets of LA. There is a mistaken idea that street life is romantic and preferred by the youths, but our research shows this to be untrue. On the streets they fall victim to pimps and drug dealers. HIV/AIDS and other diseases and infections are constant threats. “Squats,” where the youths live, under freeways or in abandoned buildings, are filthy and violent beyond belief.
On the streets, these youths miss learning the basic tools for successful functioning in society. They often find themselves in trouble wherever they go. They are too volatile for foster homes, too disruptive for schools. They often end up in police custody. Their problems with institutions and authorities become chronic. If no one intervenes, they grow up to become welfare burdens at best. At worst they become criminals.
LAYN intervenes! We work with the most difficult of these chronic youth, the ones who have failed in other programs and have been labeled incorrigible.
LAYN has a high success rate in our emergency shelter. Over 80% of our youth exit our program to live successfully with their families, in foster or group home placements, or independently.
Eighty-Seven percent (87%) of those with successful outcomes will remain in stable settings.
Pretty amazing what LAYN is able to achieve. For more information click here to visit their website.
