DATA-DRIVEN ADVOCACY

Britni Shrout| June 6th, 2023

MJ Foundation

Trigger Warning: This article discusses suicide.

Part of the human experience is being accepted for who you are and feeling like you belong. We all want to wake up every day and be the most authentic version of ourselves. In order to feel like we can show up and be authentically us, we need to feel like we will be met with acceptance for who that authentic version is. Sounds easy, right? Unfortunately, as too many know, showing up as who we truly feel inside isn’t as easy as it seems — especially for youth in the LGBTQ community.

The Trevor Project was founded more than two decades ago to respond to a public health crisis impacting LGBTQ youth — a crisis whose magnitude is huge, and one that we have worked tirelessly to end. LGBTQ young people are more than four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers, and suicide remains the second leading cause of death among all young people in the United States. In 2019, The Trevor Project research team published the nation’s first estimate of LGBTQ youth considering suicide in partnership with leading experts across the country. This ground-breaking research showed that over 1.8 million LGBTQ young people in the United States consider suicide each year; that’s 40% of LGBTQ youth.

The Trevor Project’s mission is to end suicide among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning young people.

The Trevor Project aims to achieve its mission through five key programs.

Crisis Services – The Trevor Project offers a free, confidential and secure service, connecting LGBTQ youth with counselors, available 24/7.
Peer Support – With 98% of LGBTQ young people saying a safe social networking site would be valuable to them, the Trevor Project offers TrevorSpace, an affirming online community for LGBTQ young people between the ages of 13-24.
Research – Data makes a difference. The research done by The Trevor Project brings knowledge and clinical implications to the field of suicide research.
Education and Public Awareness – Competent suicide prevention starts with how we educate ourselves and each other. The Trevor Project offers tools and resources that give everyone the ability to help.
Advocacy – The Trevor Project is the leading advocate for LGBTQ youth mental health at the federal, state and local level to address factors that place LGBTQ youth at significantly higher risk of suicide.

ALIGNMENT WITH OUR PURPOSE

In alignment with the MJ Foundation’s commitment to embracing humanity and being active forces for good, we encourage you to get involved with The Trevor Project in any way you can to advocate for suicide prevention and help make a difference in the lives of LGBTQ youth. We aim to live in a world and create an environment where we can all be our best, most authentic selves.

Mental health and wellbeing are of the utmost importance to us and our associates. We understand this starts with being able to be your authentic self. We fundamentally believe that the world will be a better place if we can ALL live our truth. As our ESG report highlights, we are committed to cultivating a culture that encourages, supports and builds up the qualities that make us unique.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We recognize that reading these statistics is alarming. Luckily, there are steps every one of us can take to be an ally and help LGBTQ youth feel like they can show up every day as the most authentic version of themselves.

Attend an Ally Training. This training is designed to create dialogue around being an adult ally for LGBTQ youth by informing participants about common terminology, the “coming out” process and challenges at home, in school and the community.
Volunteer! Become a crisis support counselor. Acceptance from at least one adult can decrease the risk of LGBTQ youth attempting suicide by 40%.
Donate!Your support helps provide crisis services free of charge and 24/7, train volunteers and enables the work with policymakers to pass legislation protecting young LGBTQ people.

Most importantly, educate yourself! The Trevor Project provides many resources to learn more about the LGBTQ community. Remember, LGBTQ youth are not inherently prone to suicide risk because of their sexual orientation or gender identity; but rather placed at higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society.