Wednesday, 25 March 2009

Comunilife  has received a $45,000 grant from the van Ameringen Foundation for support of its “Life is Precious” program.   The LIP program is an initiative to address extremely high rates of suicide among Hispanic adolescent and teenage girls.

Hispanic adolescent girls in the United States attempt suicide more than any other group. According to a June 2006 report by the Center for Disease Control, one in six Hispanic teenage girls attempt suicide (14.9%) compared to their non-Hispanic peers: 9.3% for White and 9.8% for African American adolescent girls. Suicide attempts among Latina youth in New York City exceed the national average.

“Thanks to the van Ameringen Foundation’s generous grant of $45,000, the “Life is Precious” program will be able to continue with its vital expansion of a program that has been crucial in saving the lives of teenage Latina girls in the Bronx,” said Comunilife CEO Dr. Rosa Gil. “I would like to thank Mr. Henry van Ameringen, President and Ms. Eleanor Sypher, the Executive Director, for both their generosity and genuine concern regarding this epidemic affecting the Hispanic Community.”

The LIP program, which currently operates out of Comunilife’s Vida Guidance Center mental health clinic in the Bronx, serves approximately 40 girls.  Growing awareness of the issue has led to an appropriation of federal funding from Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez which will allow the program to expand to Brooklyn.