*La Vida Es Preciosa en Espanol
Comunilife’s Life is Precious™ program is an innovative non-traditional family-centered, culturally appropriate mental health and youth development program.
Its purpose is to reduce suicide risk in girls that are currently receiving clinical services. This is achieved by providing the girls and their parents with a broad array
of services that they, and researchers, have identified as important to that effort. The program designed is based on a marketing research about Latina adolescents’
and their parents’ insights regarding suicide and their perception regarding traditional mental health systems which they experience as intrusive, ineffective, and
non-responsive to their needs.
Our Goals:
The Clubs Hours of Operation:
Monday ~ Thursday Hours 3~7 pm
Friday Hours 3~8 pm
Saturday Hours 10~2 pm
For Information Please Contact:
Ms. Beatriz Coronel, Program Coordinator
or call her at Tel.: (718) 364-7700 or
Cell: ( 917) 304-3645
Click on the button to become a Life is Precious™ Donor (Processed through Network for Good)
Download a copy of the Life is Precious™ Flyer, just Click below!
VIDA GUIDANCE CENTER
4419 3rd Avenue
Bronx, New York 10457
718-364-7700
Life is Precious on "El Diario La Prensa"
BROOKLYN — La vida es ahora más preciosa para muchas jovencitas latinas participantes de un programa comunitario
que busca sacarlas de la depresión y del intento de suicidio, luego que la congresista Nydia Velázquez otorgara ayer un
fondo federal en apoyo de esa labor.
“Hay muchas cosas más que hacer por la juventud”, declaró Velázquez a este diario tras entregar un cheque por $167,000
a la organización “Comunlife” que inauguró ayer un nuevo local en el 113 de la avenida Throop en Brooklyn, para el
programa “Life is Precious”, destinado a trabajar con jovencitas latinas que han intentado suicidarse o expresado
pensamientos suicidas.
Velázquez se mostró impresionada por las estadísticas que muestran que una de cada siete adolescentes latinas (14%) ha
intentado el suicidio. “Debemos apoyar programas como éstos que enseñen el mundo de posibilidades que tienen las jóvenes”,
agregó.“Las hispanas están iniciando negocios de forma creciente, haciendo escuchar sus voces en las elecciones y preparando
—sin descanso— el terreno que otros seguirán”, señaló la congresista demócrata por Nueva York.
“Life is Precious” fue lanzado por primera vez en El Bronx, en el 2008, gracias a un subsidio especial. Durante su primer año
y medio, el programa ha tenido éxito de prevenir la muerte de unas 100 adolescentes participantes, según se indicó ayer. Por
su parte, la doctora Rosa Gil, fundadora y presidente de “Comunilife Inc.”, señaló que la institución “está complacida de expandir
‘La Vida es Preciosa’ a Brooklyn, gracias a la generosidad de la congresista Velázquez”.
Gil explicó que su institución otorga un espacio seguro y las herramientas necesarias para que las adolescentes alcancen confianza
en sí mismas, descubran sus “tesoros escondidos” y disfruten de relaciones familiares positivas, además de mejorar su rendimiento
académico para convertirse en mujeres exitosas.
'Comunilife Gets $167K Federal Grant for "Life is Precious"'New York Non-Profit Press - Monday, 26 April 2010
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez presents $167,000 federal grant to Dr. Rosa M. Gil, Founder and CEO of Comunilife, in support of Comunilife’s Life is Precious Latina suicide prevention program.
Comunilife has received a $167,000 federal grant allowing the expansion of its groundbreaking Life is PreciousTM suicide prevention program for Latina teens to Brooklyn. Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) made the presentation at an event on Saturday which also marked the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for Comunilife’s new Brooklyn program office at 113 Throop Avenue. Life is PreciousTM program addresses unique cultural drivers – as well as the underlying psychological causes – of Latina teenage suicide. First launched in the Bronx in 2008 through a grant from the New York Community Trust, Life is PreciousTM works with Latina teens who have either attempted suicide or expressed suicidal thoughts. During its first year and one-half of operation, Life is PreciousTM has been successful in preventing further suicide attempts by the almost 100 girls participating in the program. where it is partnering with Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center and other local service providers. Of the 200 adolescents younger than 18 seeking emergency help at Woodhull for suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts during 2008, 45% were Latinas. shared her own struggles as a young immigrant living alone in New York. “I was there too. There was a time when I thought the only option left to me was to take my own life.” Fortunately, however, she explained that she too had come to understand that “life is precious.” Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Comunilife, Inc. “We provide Latina adolescents - at risk of suicide - a safe and nurturing space, hope, and the tools to become self-confident, discover their ‘hidden treasures’, enjoy positive family relationships, improve their academic performance, pursue their dreams and become successful Latina women, because ‘yes, they can!’ Life is Precious™ also provides a supportive environment for their mothers, fathers and siblings, as family is the core of Latino culture.” Life is Precious™. “And, it also helps you with your school work.” “We need to end the current suicide epidemic among Hispanic youth, and the Life is Precious™ program is making huge strides toward prevention, ” said Assemblyman Felix W. Ortiz, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Mental Health. “You don’t have to do it alone,” said Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol, addressing the young Latina program participants. Assemblymen Ortiz and Lentol committed to help find additional funding to support the program. Latina teens know that they are not alone if they have a problem and there is help available if they need it,” said Iris R. Jimenez-Hernandez, Senior Vice President of the Woodhull North Brooklyn Health Network. “The risk of suicide is very high among Latina youth and programs like this one, along with awareness efforts like Woodhull’s Latina Adolescent Suicide Prevention Media Awareness Campaign, will help save many lives.” for bringing a much-needed program office to Brooklyn and helping to show all of our vulnerable youth that life is indeed precious,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz who was represented at the event by Ilatia Guerrero.
Luis Garden Acosta, Founder and President of El Puente; Irfan Hasan, Program Officer at New York Community Trust; June Rodrigues, NAMI East Flatbush; Nitz V. Monges, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development; Dr. Evelyn Rodriguez; Silvia Gilotti, MSW, NYS Office of Mental Health; Felipe Franco, NYS Office of Children and Family Services; Rei Perez, VP Community Relations at Citi Bank; Dr. Delcia Granville, FDA.; Raquel Ayala, Comunilife Board Member; and Rev. Molly Golden, Anthony Montgomery and Michelle Pilgrim of John the Baptist Church. |
by Alexandra Torres - Greenpoint Star on Apr 27, 2010
Suicide is on the rise among Latina teenagers in North Brooklyn, studies show. To stem the trend a new health and suicide prevention center
opened in Bushwick on April 23 across the street from Woodhull Hospital. The center is run by the Bronx-based organization Comunilife and
features the advocacy group's Life is Precious program. Located at 113 Throop Avenue, and funded in part by $167,000 allocated by
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, the center is Comunilife's first foray into Brooklyn.
According to a study conducted in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of seven Latina adolescents attempted suicide.
The trend is especially evident in Velazquez's 12th Congressional District: in 2008 Latinas made up 45 percent of the 200 adolescent minors that
sought emergency help at Woodhull hospital for suicide attempts or suicidal thoughts, according to Dr. Rosa Gil, Comunilife's founder president.
In underscoring the importance of giving young Latinas access to the program, Velazquez recalled her own challenging experience of immigrating to
the United States from Puerto Rico as a young woman. “I didn't have any family here,” Velazquez said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the center.
“It was emotionally devastating for me.” Nevertheless, she said, resorting to suicide should not be the solution to coping with trying circumstances.
The Life is Precious program utilizes a non-clinical approach to work with Latina adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, allowing them to channel
feelings of depression through art therapy. The center will also work in collaboration with Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center.
Gil said the high incidence of suicide prevalent among Latina teens results from feelings of marginalization caused by language barriers, poor housing conditions,
poverty, the difficulty of acculturation, and disagreements with mothers over Latino versus American values.
Nancy Perez, whose daughter is in the program, said teenagers must never lose sight of their heritage. “You have to keep going as Hispanic women.” Perez said.
“This place [will be] a safe haven for you.” Velazquez said she hopes to secure more funding for the program next year. “We are going to go after every foundation
in New York City,” she said. “Next year we will go for $500,000.”
Are you a concerned adult or organization looking to become part of the solution?
Please click here to link to *Proyecto Vida or *Proyecto Vida en Espanol
Life Is Precious in the Bronx from Dana Rapoport on Vimeo.
