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LIFE STEPS  
Helping under-served, inner-city youth cope with and overcome obstacles in their lives can prevent costly rehabilitation, health care, unemployment, and incarceration. LIFE STEPS, a preventive program, which provides counseling and leadership development for at-risk children and adolescents, offers strategies for change through a comprehensive array of individual, group, and family counseling.
Bilingual, bicultural Masters- and PhD-level social workers/counselors assist clients with a wide range of psycho-social concerns-peer and family relationships, chronic illness, bereavement, alcohol and substance abuse, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, transition to work-as well as help with entitlements. Our group program provides a special place for teens to explore their values and goals, learn new skills, build new relationships, and have fun, all while encouraging participants to utilize their individual strengths in a creative and experiential manner. Groups evolve based on the changing needs of our clients. Some groups, both past and current, include: Creative Arts/Newsletter, which cultivates self-expression and improves communication skills; Independent Living/World of Work, which addresses the difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood; Parent-Teen Communication, which locates the strains and eases the stresses that exist between adolescents and their caretakers; Women's Support, which targets the needs of female parents/caretakers; Boys/Girls, which highlights awareness of sexuality and gender roles and how these shape adolescent behavior and relationships; Adventure-Based Counseling, which facilitates physical and emotional challenges through active engagement with the world of nature; and Summer Camp Coordination, which provides specialized referral to several sleep-away camps outside New York City. While our stated mission is to prevent placement, the real goal is to provide opportunities to enhance family/peer relationships and self-image, thereby decreasing acting-out behaviors and encouraging an active interest in community building. | ||||||||||||
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