BEAUTY WITHIN ~ TEEN ESTEEM ™

There are 17 million uninsured young Americans who are now eligible to get health insurance thanks to Obamacare. And -- better yet -- almost 90 percent of those young people could get some form of financial assistance for getting covered.When we hear about shady groups trying to convince young people that getting health insurance is bad, too expensive, or just not necessary for them, Truth Team is fighting back, getting out the facts and making sure young people know their options. The good news is the numbers show that young people are seeing through it -- polls show only 5 percent of young Americans say they don't want or need health insurance.

“I always wanted to come into the spotlight,” E.J. says. “I always had dreams and plans of doing my own thing and creating my own image, so it came a little sooner than I thought it would but this is still something I knew I would be going through and would have to experience.”According to reports , the basketball legend’s only son will be featured on a new E! series titled “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills.” As the title suggests, the show will follow five young adults as they flaunt their wealth and designer bags in front of the camera.“You’ll see me doing the absolute worst with all my crazy friends,” E.J. said during a recent hosting gig on E!’s Fashion Police. The 20-year-old NYU student came out of the closet earlier this year and his family publicly supported him.“I don’t care about the backlash, if somebody doesn’t agree, that’s just tough on them. I’m gonna love my son until the end,” Magic told The Grio . “He has a right to decide who he wants to be, who he wan...

First Look: Gay Hollywood on Oprah's Next Chapter On Sunday, October 27, Oprah hosts a conversation about being gay in America with comedian Wanda Sykes, Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Scandal star Dan Bucatinsky. Watch as they share their personal experiences about coming out and the importance of marriage equality. Tune in at 9/8c.  Then, stay tuned at 10/9c for the premiere of Bridegroom, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason's documentary about Shane Bitney Crone and his journey to honor his late partner, Thomas Bridegroom.

Official Trailer: Bridegroom Premieres on OWN Sunday, October 27 at 10/9c Bridegroom is a documentary film by director Linda Bloodworth Thompson that tells the emotional journey of Shane Bitney Crone and Tom Bridegroom, two young men in a loving and committed relationship that was cut tragically short. The story of what happened after Tom's accidental death—of how people in relationships without the legal protections of marriage can find themselves completely shut out and ostracized by family members—is poignant, provoking and opens a window into the issue of marriage equality and human rights. Watch this official trailer and then tune in for premiere of Bridegroom on OWN on Sunday, October 27 at 10/9c.

Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas Encourages Northridge Academy High School Students to Drive Distraction Free! Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy partnered with two-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas to help kick-off National Teen Driver Safety Week activities and raise awareness around teen driver safety. Douglas, 17, currently has her driver's permit and is enrolling in the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy driver education and training programs. "I'm taking my driving lessons as seriously as my Olympic training," said Douglas. "I know that it will take a lot of practice behind-the-wheel, especially driving in big cities. I also feel strongly about encouraging my friends and family to not text and drive." According to a recent report, 18- and 19- year-old driver fatal crash rates are higher in California and nationally after Graduated Driver License (GDL) programs were enacted. One explanation is that teens are simply waiting un...

Sometimes it’s easy to think of teenagers as mini-adults. They’re starting to display the traits of adulthood — physically, mentally and creatively. At the same time, teens are notorious for lacking a fully developed sense of judgment. To varying degrees, teens are generally less able to recognize the consequences of their actions than they will just a few years later as adults. As a parent trying to help your teen learn good financial behaviors, you might have a difficult choice to make. Namely, should you get your teen a credit card? And if so, can you trust your teen to use it responsibly ? When we talk about teenagers, we are literally referring to those between the ages of 13 and 19, so that is a very large range. At 13, children are just becoming old enough to venture out to stores by themselves, albeit with parental guidance. By this point, parents should be able to entrust most children with small amounts of cash. Learning to spend these limited funds as instruc...

Devastated Little Miss Hispanic winner,  stripped of her crown because she's 'not Latin enough' Jakiyah McKoy's family insists her late grandmother came from La Vega, Dominican Republic Pageant rules require contestants be of 'at least 25 percent Latin heritage' ‘There is no information on this deceased woman': According to pageant sponsors, Jakiyah's family could not prove her heritage Jakiyah's supporters claim she lost the title because of her black skin Jakiyah McKoy is a 7-year-old who was recently named the winner of the Little Miss Hispanic Delaware pageant. After complaints that Jakiyah's beauty doesn't "represent Latino beauty" because she is Afrolatina, Nuestras Raices Delaware, the organization sponsoring the pageant, withheld her title pending an investigation of her heritage, an investigation which none of the other contestants were subjected to. Jakiyah McKoy took the top prize in the pageant also ...

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The Los Angeles Youth Network partners with local state and private university internship programs.  Internships are only accepted through your university contact.  If you are a BSW or MSW student please contact your school fieldwork liaison for possible internships with LAYN. For more info contact :The College Student's Online Guide to Internships LOS ANGELES YOUTH NETWORK COLLEGE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM   “If there is one thing I would like to relate to the community, it’s that I have seen youth come in here seriously struggling and seen youth leave to become independent, with a job, at school, just a complete 360 turnaround. The staff here is truly some of the most amazing I’ve ever worked with. LAYN is an amazing establishment.“  --LAYN Art Therapy Intern

2013 Charity Masquerade Ball & Auction   This Night of Enchantment will help to bring awareness to the 9500 youth who experience homelessness each year in LA..,   Friday, October 18, 2013 Details     

California Elementary School Puts Sticker On Student Saying "Lunch Money Please"  “Oh, the lunch lady put that on me to wear home for my parents to see,” Preston said.  Read More

Nice Nailantei Leng'ete, Diallo and Ahmed are just three of the estimated 140 million women girls and women worldwide who have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM). But unlike the vast majority of girls unable to fight back either during the procedure or after, these women are defying it now — and demanding the rest of the world do the same. That story starts when, as an 8-year-old orphan in Kajiado, Kenya, while on a break from boarding school, Leng'ete literally ran away from a circumcision arranged by her uncle for her and her cousins. She made it to her grandfather's home and managed to convince him, an influential elder in her Masai community, to exempt her from the painful and dangerous procedure. FGM .  The new drive is specifically geared toward pressing the European Union to coordinate the  laws, statistics and even foreign policy of its 27 member states into a united front to halt the practice. In the U.S., legislation has been in p...

Though she’s only been making music for little over a year, Jersey-native SZA (born Solana Rowe) has already attracted comparisons to artist like Frank Ocean. Another less expected analogy might be made between the 23-year-old musician and an artist like Grimes, who orchestrates nearly every film, performance, and artwork associated with her name. “I wanted to live and die by my own decisions,” SZA says of the self-directed video for “Teen Spirit,” debuting today. “From color correction to set choice to dressing myself in dirty T-shirts and random Marni pieces and refusing a stylist and makeup artist…I figured if I was going to fail, I’d do it on my own terms.” Given that SZA has recently joined Kendrick Lamar’s TDE label after having already released two EPs with another on the way, we doubt failure is anywhere in her future.

International Walk to School or Bike to School Today is the 17th Walk to School Day! This annual event in the United States is a part of an international effort to celebrate the many benefits of walking and bicycling to school. Walk to School Day 2013 will take place on Wednesday , October 9 . Walk to School Day participation reached a record high in 2012 with more than 4,200 registered U.S. events, and that number is expected to be even higher in 2013. Walk to School events are a way for schools and communities to build enthusiasm for walking to school, promote the benefits of walking and bicycling and bring visibility to any safety concerns. More than one-half (55 percent) of U.S. events are part of ongoing efforts to promote walking and bicycling throughout the year. In fact, Safe Routes to School programs that work to enable and encourage more children to walk and bicycle to school on a regular basis are a natural extension for many events. This growth has been ...

The shutdown news of the day so far is that a White House official boasted to The Wall Street Journal , “We are winning ... It doesn't really matter to us" how long the shutdown lasts "because what matters is the end result.” This is a sort of gaffe, partly true and partly false. The government shutdown has a non-zero-sum result, in that it hurts lots of Americans. It’s also a zero-sum contest between the parties. Now, one of the ways you win the zero-sum contest is by not declaring you’re winning the zero-sum contest and thus opening yourself to the charge of indifference to the negative-sum effects. Read More

Halloween Costumes For Teens & Tweens  Anytime a child has an accident, it's tragic. Having your child get hurt any day of the year would be horrible but the last thing that you want to happen is for your child to be hurt on a holiday, like Halloween. It would forever live in the minds of the child and family, ruining that special time of year. Everyone wants to have a safe and happy Halloween for themselves, their guests and especially their children. Using safety tips and some common sense can help you make the most of your Halloween season, keeping it as enjoyable for your kids as it is for you! There are lots of simple ways to help keep your child safe on Halloween, when accidents and injuries are more likely to occur. The excitement of children and adults at this time of year can sometimes make them not as careful as they would normally be. I've listed some suggestions that can do a lot to stop tragedies from happening and help make the most of ev...