Play to Improve the Mental Health of Trans Youth and Youth Affected by HIV/AIDS

Play Equity to Advance Mental Health (sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

In December 2021, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a rare warning: Mental health challenges were leading to "devastating effects" among young people. His statement came as the suicide rate for young Americans ages 10 to 19 jumped by 40 percent from 2001 to 2019, while emergency room visits for self-harm rose by 88 percent. For the youth we serve, this is compounded on top of their already fragile mental health. Transgender/gender-diverse youth are six times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts. Over the past several years, The Laurel Foundation has seen the devastating effects the COVID-19 pandemic along with economic, community, and social disruptions have had on our community. Our programs all have had an astounding increase in camper enrollment, and increased requests from caregivers for help. The Laurel Foundation is a 100% cost-free program. We address these issues by providing a safe space for play and empowerment for the youth.

This project will support the initiative of Play Equity to Advance Mental Health. There is no question that play improves mental health. For the youth we serve, they do not have the means to get out of the city and experience play, parks, trees, and the great outdoors. Our program offers a free, safe space where the youth are supported by peers and are free from discrimination, and can just be their authentic selves. The Laurel Foundation's goal is to improve the mental and physical health of the youth through empowerment, building resilience, and inspiring hope. Through joy and fun, peer support groups are formed, and important coping and life skills are learned giving these kids an opportunity they would not otherwise have in life.

The impact on Los Angeles County as a result of our program is enormous. Safe play should not be a right given to those who can only afford it. Low-income youth, when empowered, they have hope. They believe in themselves and believe they can make a difference in the world to make it a better place. This hope decreases youth at-risk activities, gang involvement, crimes, etc. Our youth face adversity every day. This leads to mental health challenges and at-risk activities. By empowering them, they do not participate in at-risk activities, as they have hope and want to build a productive life. This then impacts communities. It will impact Los Angeles County, in that there will be few crimes and a foundation of youth in Los Angeles who want to make a difference in the communities they live to make them better.

The Laurel Foundation assesses the impact of its programs in several ways. 1) At each resident program, we have the youth complete our Battery Outcomes Survey. The youth complete an intake survey on the first day and an outtake survey on the last day. The surveys assess growth for independence, self-empowerment, sense of community, productive communication, and self-advocacy. These are charted throughout the participation of the youth in our programs. In some instances, we have tracked youth for over 11 years. This enables us to see the short and long-term effects of our programs. Additionally, we hold annual focus groups with the parents/guardians as well as the youth and do ongoing case management on the youth. This allows us to truly see the effectiveness of our efforts. This allows us to see firsthand the impact of our programs. We measure success one youth at a time, watching how they build productive successful lives.