LOS ANGELES, May 30, 2007—When Michael (last name withheld to protect his confidentiality), age 17, first came to the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Jeff Griffith Youth Center in September 2006, he was using drugs and living on the streets after having run away from a group foster home.

Today, thanks to the Center’s landmark new General Education Diploma (GED) Preparation Program, he holds the equivalent of a high school diploma and is now training through the Los Angeles Jobs Corps for a career as an X-ray technician.

The Center’s GED Preparation Program, launched in August 2006, is the first GED program in the nation designed specifically to meet the unique needs of homeless gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth—many of whom have fared poorly in typical classroom settings or feel oppressed in traditional educational environments.

“Instead, we offer at the Jeff Griffith Youth Center a learning environment that is structured to be much more comfortable and ‘home-like,’ where students can eat snacks and relax while they learn at their own pace,” says Simon Costello, manager of the youth center. “They also can work on their own or one-on-one with tutors, rather than participate in the sort of group classroom instruction that already failed them.”