Next Trevor New York, the eighth annual New York City gala benefiting The Trevor Project, takes place at the end of this month.
The Trevor Project operates the nations only 24/7 crisis & suicide prevention helpline for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.
There is probably not a more worthy and important cause in our community.
We rightly celebrate the increasingly numbers of courageous young people who come out in their teens and often at high school nowadays. It is a testament to a more tolerant and accepting society today than even a decade ago. It is of course not universal by any means and homophobia even among young people, often influenced by their parents, is still rife and particularly in the school environment.
I didn’t come out until after college which seems quite late in today’s world. Most of my friends who are the same age came out a little earlier but still when we look back few of us can contemplate even considering being open about our sexuality during our mid teens – which are of course often the most turbulent emotional times for anyone
The rates of teen suicides among LBGT youth are shocking and heartbreaking. Studies show that gay teen suicide attempts are two to three times that of heterosexual youth. Approximately every five hours, a gay teenager ends their own life. We hear about the horrific cases of Matthew Shepard and Lawrence King and we are moved to take action. We don’t hear the silent voices of those who take their own life as they are unable terms with their sexuality, face rejection from their families or are subjected to homophobic abuse and bullying. It is a tragedy for our community that we have a responsibility to face up to and that the Trevor Project is seeking to tackle head on.
This of course could be a shameless plug on this blog for this organization which I would have no problem in doing but it is also interesting to take a brief look at the communications techniques the project is using to get across his message.
This includes a smart "Don’t Erase Your Queer Future" campaign (including banner ads which can be embedded on other sites and blogs), celebrity endorsements (from gay and straight people), a Facebook group and a viral video (featuring the like of Carmen Electra, Britanny Snow and Kristin Davies) designed to reach young people and potential donors alike.
In terms of the media, Anderson Cooper deserves credit for his coverage of gay homeless teens (who are more likely to attempt suicide) and most recently for the time he has given on his CNN show to discuss the murder of Lawrence King, but I think the mainstream coverage of these issues which affect our whole society whether we are gay or straight needs to be more extensive.
It would also be great to see more celebrities – gay and straight – get involved to raise the profile of this issue. I noted that in the promotional video the only non-gay participants were women and the absence of any high profile straight male celebrities was disappointing.
I hope the work of the Trevor Project and others will receive more attention in the future not simply for helping LGBT teenagers, but for saving young lives which are just as valuable as any other.
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