Contrary to some people’s (wrong) opinions, being gay or bi or transgender is not a choice anybody makes; it’s who you are inside, and it feels wrong to pretend otherwise. Unfortunately for the LGBTQ community, not everyone has a “live and let live” attitude, and there are countless LGBTQ youth every day who have to deal with the horrible attitudes of people who just don’t understand them. Sometimes, the hatred they experience comes from a place of fear, rather than anger; and sometimes, all that’s needed is a little bit of education.
That’s a best-case scenario, though; not everybody is as lucky to have people who are willing to listen, and that’s why suicide is four times more likely among LGBTQ youth than those who are straight. LGBTQ youth who come from highly rejecting families (think: throwing them out, disowning them) are nearly nine times more likely to have attempted suicide as LGBTQ peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection. Sure, it’s fine when your aunt you only see at Christmas thinks you’re Satan’s curse to the world, but when your whole family feels that way, it’s a lot more difficult (or impossible) to deal with. I’m fine with my Aunt Laura sending me newspaper clippings of horrible things happening to the LGBTQ community with little notes in the margins about how I’m going to burn for eternity; those things I can just toss in the trash next to any fucks I give about her opinion, and I can move on with my fucking fabulous life. But when your whole family (or most of it) is inundating you with messages of hatred, it becomes a lot harder to see the rainbow at the end of the tunnel.
The Trevor Project started in 1998 as a safe place for LGBTQ youth. It’s the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to everyone in the LGBTQ community from ages 13-24. Each instance of physical or verbal harassment towards LGBTQ youth increases the likelihood of self-harming by three times on average. Not only do they provide counseling and crisis intervention, but they also provide education for those who wish to be of aid to at-risk LGBTQ youth. They have a handy video right on their website that helps those who wish to help to identify the challenges faced by LGBTQ people, how to recognize the warning signs of suicide, and how to respond to somebody who may be in crisis. The Trevor Project encourages suicidal LGBTQ youth to look for help towards those who care, even if that person is only a voice on a phone.
The Trevor Project can be reached at:
Their toll-free help line at 1-866-488-7386
The Trevor Project website
Their secure social networking site for LGBTQ youth called Trevor Space
If you need help and aren’t in the US, you can reach out to Befrienders, or the international site Suicide.org, which has numbers for suicide hotlines worldwide.
Sometimes, we feel like it doesn’t get better. Organizations like The Trevor Project are there to show you that it does, and that there is always someone who cares.
