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Trevor Project float at the 2004 LA Gay Pride parade.

Suicide ranks as the third leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 15 and 29—outranked only by accidents and homicides. And for some teens the risk is even greater—national and state surveys indicate that gay and lesbian teens are far more likely than their heterosexual peers to attempt suicide.

While there are a number of hotlines and other resources for depressed teens in crisis, The Trevor Project stands out for its focus on gay and questioning teens. The project is a non-profit 501-3-c headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, and operates the nation's only 24-hour suicide prevention helpline especially geared towards gay and questioning youth.

As part of its mission to aid in suicide prevention and to promote acceptance of gay and questioning teenagers, The Trevor Project also provides other services, including guidance and resources for teens, teachers, parents and educators.

The Trevor Project hotline: 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386)

Understanding the Risk

Sexual orientation and gender identity issues are not, in and of themselves, risk factors for suicide. However, gay teens are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, according to the 1989 report, "The Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide" by Paul Gibson for the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services. That is believed to be partly due to their increased risk of depression and anxiety triggered by the widespread harassment and bullying of gay teens.

According to a national survey released in 2002 by the National Mental Health Association, 78% of teens reported that kids who are gay or thought to be gay are teased or bullied in their schools and communities.

"When bullied, gay youth and those thought to be gay face an increased risk for depression, anxiety disorders, school failure and suicide,"
said Michael Faenza, former president of the NMHA.

• Learn more about The Trevor Project and find links to other resources.
• Additional gay and teen suicide prevention resources are provided by the Tampa Bay Coalition.
• Also helpful is Affirmation's youth page for gay and lesbian Mormons.
• The NMHA has a program "What Does Gay Mean?" that includes a booklet for parents. 800-969-NMHA (6642)

A National Issue

The Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens are almost four times more likely to attempt suicide and five times more likely to receive medical treatment for an attempt than heterosexual youth—somewhat higher than the national figures.

There has been controversy over how direct government public health efforts aimed at teen suicide prevention should be about the specific risks to gay and questioning teens. For example, in 2005 two employees of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) asked organizers to remove the words "gay," "lesbian," "bisexual" and "transgender" from the conference of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

The specific risks to gay teens are real, say advocates. "We can pretty much say that this is what's going on throughout the country. The Massachusetts survey has been conducted every two years since 1993 with consistent results. Studies in other cities and states such as Vermont, Chicago and San Francisco have had similar findings," said Jorge Valencia, executive director of The Trevor Project.

"These statistics indicate a real need. We believe that these high rates are preventable," he commented. "Suicide risk factors specific to gay youth include lack of family acceptance, being ostracized due to gender non-conformity and feeling fear of loss when coming out," said Valencia. "But even if young people aren't facing a gay-related risk factor, knowing that they can talk to another gay person about suicide makes them feel additionally comfortable."

The Trevor Helpline

As the only national 24-hour, 365-day-a-year hotline especially geared towards gay and questioning youth, The Trevor Helpline is the heart of The Trevor Project. All calls are free, confidential and handled by one of about 90 trained counselors.

"All counselors are volunteers and receive 32 hours of classroom training and 10 hours of supervised call center training before taking a call independently," said Andy Scheer, program and outreach director of The Trevor Project.

"The classroom training consists of lectures, role-play sessions, guest speakers and video presentations," said Scheer. And volunteers receive ongoing in-service training three times a year.

Counselors are recruited through e-mail blasts, flyers, ads in local publications that donate space, and special events. Not all of the counselors are gay or lesbian. "We also have some heterosexual males and females on the lines—something that is very, very important to us," said Scheer. "Counselors are volunteers from every walk of life."

Resources for all suicidal or depressed teens:

• San Francisco Suicide Prevention The 24-hour crisis hotline: 415-781-0500.
• Befrienders International works to prevent suicide
worldwide.
• Connect for Kids topic page on mental health.

Scheer said there are always at least two counselors in the West Hollywood call center at any given moment, backed up by a call center manager. A second call center in San Francisco provides support when the West Hollywood call center is not open, or when both counselors are on calls and a third call comes in.

How It Began

The helpline was created in 1998 to coincide with the HBO airing of the Academy-Award winning short film "Trevor," an 18-minute drama about a fictional 13-year-old gay teen who makes an unsuccessful suicide attempt when rejected because of his sexuality. The film's creators, Randy Stone, Peggy Rajski, and James Lecesne established the helpline with a generous start-up grant from The Colin Higgins Foundation, which assists organizations in the area of AIDS education and advocacy and empowerment of the GLBT community. To date, the helpline has received over 30,000 calls, and handles a monthly average of 750 to 1,000 calls.

"The majority of calls come in right after school gets out. Gay teens who are harassed, verbally abused and physically assaulted feel very alone," said Valencia. "Knowing that there is someone they can speak with means a lot to them, especially if they are not getting support from family, community, schools or their religion. They need to talk with people who want them to stay alive and offer them the necessary resources."

"Gay and questioning youth don't have to be suicidal to call. We are here for youth in crisis; and that crisis is defined by them, not us.
For example, a teen may face a relationship issue and we are here to help them hash it out," commented Scheer.

"Not all callers are suicidal, but they need to talk about their feelings. Young people are calling from rural America where there are very few places for outreach," said David Paisley, who is deputy director of San Francisco Suicide Prevention, a Trevor Helpline partner.

Anyone who is concerned that a gay teen may be suicidal is encouraged to call as well. Parents, teachers, educators, friends and loved ones are welcome to phone for feedback, referrals and information.

"We get calls from teachers who want to check out the helpline to see if it's OK to refer students to," said Scheer. "One teacher asked for advice about a situation at school."

Trevor On-line and in Schools

For situations that aren't urgent, gay and questioning youth are encouraged to send their confidential questions over the Internet to "Dear Trevor."

"We started this program over a year ago because we realized that many teens are online," commented Scheer. "A clinician answers the question and we post it on our web site. So far we've responded to 150 to 200 questions, which typically involve coming out to family and friends.
Teens also ask how they know if they're gay, how they can find other gay youth and what it means to be gay or lesbian."

The free Trevor Teaching Guide is a classroom tool to be used in conjunction with the "Trevor" film. Teachers can use the film to help generate a constructive discussion with all students about suicide, personal identity and sexual orientation.

The materials were created by Intermedia, Inc., an educational media company which frequently brings difficult subjects to the classroom. The Teaching Guide can be downloaded for free.

"When educators and youth services providers sign up on our web site we'll send them the free Trevor Survival Kit which includes a hard copy of the teaching guide, the short film and some posters. We'll also send other outreach materials such as wallet-size cards for students with the Trevor helpline number," said Scheer.

"The Trevor educational package has been a great resource for us. We've been using it for the past three years as part of a mandatory sophomore class called Choices and Challenges," said Ryan Tarpley, who is assistant head of the Upper School at Harvard-Westlake, a private school in the Los Angeles area.

"It's been a safe way to introduce challenging topics such as suicide, stereotyping, sexuality and gender roles," he commented. "This gives us the most supportive and structured format to discuss these issues. For example, after we watch the video we ask students how a student like Trevor might be treated at this school. We also discuss what it's like to be different as a teen and ask students if they ever have felt different."

Growing Reach and Budget

The Trevor Project's annual operating budget has skyrocketed over the past five years from $80,000 to $720,000.

"Many people believe in our mission and 80 to 85 percent of our budget comes from individual donations," said Valencia. "Our Circle of Hope membership program does a wonderful job of supporting our efforts. We have 11 to 13 fundraising events every year, and also participate in community outreach events such as Gay Pride parades."

"Our largest corporate sponsor is Clear Channel Communications, but there also are many corporations and businesses that sponsor different fundraising events," he commented. "Foundations include Wells Fargo, PacifiCare, Jewish Federation, Roblee Foundation and Rainbow Endowment."

"Many of our events involve celebrities, but we also have many that do not, such as pool parties and in-home mixers," added Valencia.

How to Help

To locate recommended local, state and national resources go to The Trevor Project's helpful interactive map.

"Resources are out there, even if they are not in your local community.
There are many national organizations that care deeply about the gay youth and their health and welfare," said Scheer. "We are here to assist the parents, teachers and educators who want to support gay youth. All it takes is reaching out to us."

Letitia L. Star is a freelance writer who specializes writing about children, teens and families.