Today I want to discuss an organization that’s dear to my heart, the Trevor Project. You’ll notice on the left of this screen, there’s a link to their webpage. I encourage everyone to check them out, donate, volunteer; the littlest bit can make the biggest difference. They are truly an inspiring group and they save so many lives every day.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Trevor Project, it was established by writer James Lecesne, director/producer Peggy Rajski and producer Randy Stone who created the 1994 Academy Award-winning short film, Trevor.

Set in 1981, Trevor is told through a series of diary entries following a gay 13-year-old boy named Trevor, who seeks his parents’ attention and support by frequently faking his own death by suicide. To his delight, Trevor is befriended by hunky school athlete, Pinky Faraday, upon whom he develops a crush. When he confesses how he feels about Pinky to his best friend, Walter Stiltman, not realizing anything is unusual about his feelings, his friend turns on him and word spreads at school that Trevor is gay. Shortly thereafter, a confused Trevor is ostracized by his entire school, and in his ensuing pain goes to such lengths as to give himself electric shock therapy to reverse his apparent homosexuality, runaway from home, and ultimately attempt suicide while lip-syncing to the Diana Ross song, “Endless Love.” When Trevor awakes in the hospital he meets Jack, a young candy-striper with a supportive demeanor. Jack’s friendship and advice, along with an offer to see Diana Ross live in concert, inspires Trevor to live. The film closes with a buoyant Trevor dancing up the sidewalk to his parents’ house while singing Diana Ross’s song, “I’m Coming Out.”

When this film was scheduled to air on HBO in 1998, the filmmakers realized that some of their young viewers might be facing the same crisis as Trevor and began searching for the appropriate support line to promote during the airing. However, when they discovered there were none, they dedicated themselves to creating what they considered a much needed resource: an organization that promotes understanding and acceptance for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning youth, and aides in crisis and suicide prevention among this group. Thus, the Trevor Project was born, and through seed funding by the Colin Higgins Foundation, the Trevor Lifeline was formed, becoming the first ever 24 hour suicide prevention hotline aimed at LGBTQ youth.

The Trevor Project has also sponsored some other campaigns in an effort to further promote understanding and acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning youth, one of which is the “It Gets Better Project.”

In September 2010, syndicated columnist and author, Dan Savage recorded a YouTube video with his partner, Terry, aimed at inspiring hope among LGBTQ youth facing harassment. In response to an overwhelming number of suicides in recent months due to bullying, they wanted to offer a personal way for supporters to let these young people know that it does, in fact, get better.

Two months later, the “It Gets Better” project had become a worldwide movement with over 10,000 videos having been viewed 35 million times. To date, the project has received submissions from celebrities, politicians, organizations, activists, and media personalities, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Representative Nancy Pelosi, Adam Lambert, Anne Hathaway, Colin Farrell, Matthew Morrison of “Glee,” Joe Jonas, Joel Madden, Ke$ha, Sarah Silverman, Tim Gunn, Ellen DeGeneres, Suze Orman, the personnel of the Gap, Google, Facebook, Pixar, the Broadway community, and many more.

The Trevor Project is a vital organization for our nation’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth. A recent study showed that gay adolescents are 2-6 times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual counterparts. The most common cause of this is the amount of anti-gay bullying that goes on in our schools. This has been an ongoing problem, but the number of new cases coming to light is horrifying. In September 2010, ten new cases caught the public eye.

–          Billy Lucas (15); September 9, 2010; Indiana; Billy hanged himself in his barn after alleged bullying and harassment at school. Jade Sansing told reporters that she heard the bullies call him “gay and tell him to go kill himself.”

–          Cody J. Barker (17); September 13, 2010; Wisconsin; Cody was an openly gay teenager who had recently attended a seminar aimed at helping him establish a gay-straight student alliance at his school. He was a passionate advocate especially for those ostracized for their sexual orientation or gender identity.

–          Seth Walsh (13); September 19, 2010; California; Even before Seth came out, he was constantly picked on for his mannerisms and way of dressing. On September 19, his mother found him unconscious. He had tried to hang himself. He hung on for ten days on life support before succumbing to his injuries.

–          Tyler Clementi (18); September 22, 2010; New Jersey; Tyler was outed in a gay sex tape secretly recorded by his roommate and a friend. He jumped off the GW Bridge.

–          Asher Brown (13); September 23, 2010; Texas; Asher was the victim of constant bullying at school. His parents claim he was “bullied to death.” He was picked on for his small size, his religion and because he didn’t wear designer clothes. His schoolmates also accused him of being gay and when he couldn’t take it anymore, he found his father’s gun and shot himself.

–          Harrison Chase Brown (15); September 25, 2010; Colorado; Some of Harrison’s friends told blogger, Perez Hilton that he killed himself because he was bullied. No more information is available about his death.

–          Zach Harrington (19); September 28, 2010; Oklahoma; In one of the most disturbing stories to date, Zach took his own life after attending a city council meeting and hearing city council members making disparaging, anti-gay remarks.

–          Raymond Chase (19); September 29, 2010; Rhode Island; Raymond was an openly gay sophomore at Johnson & Wales University. He hung himself in his dorm room. Details surrounding the reason behind his suicide are unknown.

–          Felix Sacco (17) September 29, 2010; Massachusetts; Classmate, Megan Ascolese says she witnessed Felix being bullied. He jumped off of an overpass.

–          Caleb Nolt (14); September 30, 2010; Indiana; While circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear, classmates have alluded to the fact that he was bullied.

In most bullying cases that are unrelated to sexual orientation, the children being harassed can seek out counselors, teachers or parents. Unfortunately, when it comes to gay youth, the majority of them isn’t out to anybody yet, and therefore, has no one to whom they can turn. This is why it’s important to not only provide a lifeline for adolescents on the edge, but also to foster understanding throughout the community and their peers, so they can comprehend the consequences of their actions. In response to the September 2010 suicides, Texas Congressman Joel Burns made an impassioned “It Gets Better” video during a city council meeting, where he opened up about his own difficulties growing up as a gay teen and alleged to having had suicidal thoughts of his own.

 

As stated on their website, The Trevor Project offers several different services, the most well-known being the Trevor Lifeline – an around the clock crisis and suicide prevention hotline. The Trevor Lifeline is a free and confidential service with counselors that offers hope and someone to talk to. Each year, tens of thousands of calls are fielded from young people all around the country. The Trevor Lifeline is accredited as an exemplary crisis intervention program by the American Association for Suicidology (AAS). So, please, if you or anyone you know is in need of help, before you do anything else, call 1-866-4-U-TREVOR.

Dear Trevor is an online, non time-sensitive question and answer resource for young people with questions surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity.

TrevorChat is a free and confidential messaging service that provides live help through its website. This service is only intended for people not at risk for suicide. TrevorChat is available on Fridays between 1pm Pacific (4pm Eastern) to 9pm Pacific (12am Eastern).

These three services have saved so many lives and I cannot express my appreciation enough for the Trevor Project and all they do. The sad truth is that every five hours an LGBT teen takes his or her life and for every one that succeeds, there are twenty more who try.

I encourage everyone to get involved with this great organization. Whether it’s donating time or money, our future generation deserves our protection. Every little bit helps.

A word from the 2011 Trevor Hero Award winner: