Words by Smiley Team
The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ young people has issued a report exploring the impact of coronavirus on LGBTQ+ youth.
Although youth and young adults are estimated to have a lower mortality rate from COVID-19, they are not immune to its consequences. LGBTQ+ youth even prior to the pandemic experienced poorer levels of mental health and were at higher risk of suicide, self-injury, anxiety and depression. These risks are even more pronounced among youth who are transgender and/or non-binary.
Founded in 1998 by the creators of the Academy Award®-winning short film TREVOR, The Trevor Project is the leading organisation in the US providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning young people under the age of 25. The Trevor Project provides a range of services with a high success rate. In an external evaluation of Trevor’s crisis services, over 90% of youth with suicide risk during their interaction with Trevor were successfully de-escalated.
A new report by The Trevor Project emphasises both the reasons for the increase in poor LGBTQ+ youth mental health as well as strategies to help tackle this. For example, social distancing has resulted in a decrease in positive social connection which is known to protect LGBTQ+ young people from suicidality. The full report can be found here.
All of their services are remaining open 24/7. LGBTQ youth seeking community while physically distant from usual support can join TrevorSpace, the world’s largest safe space social networking site for LGBTQ youth. It provides LGBTQ youth and allies with a safe, affirming community and the opportunity to connect with people who might be going through similar experiences. Finding a safe community online can be a powerful way to deal with physical isolation, receive support, and explore their identity.
TrevorText, TrevorChat, and TrevorLifeline, provide 24/7 support to youth in crisis. LGBTQ youth who experience anxiety and concerns over their physical or mental health or their economic situation can find a trained adult ready to listen and support them.
The Trevor Project is committed to ensuring that LGBTQ youth are supported throughout this pandemic by providing 24/7 access to an affirming international community for LGBTQ young people and trained crisis counsellors to talk directly with youth with youth in crisis. We hope others will join us in helping LGBTQ youth know that they are not alone and provide the social, economic, and mental health support they need during these unprecedented times.
As a charity, The Trevor Project relies on donations being made to ensure that they are able to continue their work
By Ellen Jones
