Our on-the-streets outreach efforts are the corner stone of STANDUP FOR KIDS. It is what sets us apart from other programs that seek to assist homeless and street youth.

The Los Angeles program of STANDUP FOR KIDS currently conducts Street Outreach three times a week: twice each week in Venice and once a week in Hollywood. We are able to provide food, hygiene products, clothing, blankets, emotional support, counseling, help with local transportation and the locating of shelters, as well as various other resources to between 100 and 150 homeless youth in this area each week through those efforts alone.

In addition to our Outreach efforts, we are able to provide homeless youth in Los Angeles with a hot meal and temporary shelter from the streets once a week through our partnership with Common Ground, a local agency committed to HIV education, prevention and treatment.

Our counselors are put through a rigorous, nationally standardized orientation and training course before being sent out onto the streets. Potential Outreach counselors are informed fully of the daily realities of life on the streets for the youth they will encounter, and how best to approach, listen to and counsel them. All counselors are additionally required to clear an official background check before they are allowed to begin conducting Outreach. Trained counselors only perform outreach in teams to ensure the safety of both those counselors and the youth they will be interacting with. Volunteers are asked to make a minimum commitment of 6 months to the program, as consistency is paramount when attempting to gain the trust of a youth that has more than likely been taken advantage of by adults most of his or her life. An extended commitment is also necessary for the continuity of our program in this area.

The STANDUP FOR KIDS Los Angeles team additionally host several fund raisers each year, and endeavor regularly to raise public awareness with regard to the growing homeless youth issue and their life on the streets through various public speaking engagements. We believe that no youth should be forced into the harsh realities of life on the streets or have to continue living under its specter, and are committed to doing whatever we can to change this reality.

We are always looking for committed, responsible individuals to help us carry out this mission. If you are interested either in becoming an Outreach counselor or helping out behind the scenes in the Los Angeles area, please complete and submit our Volunteer Application form. All inquires can be sent to losangeles@standupforkids.org.

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