June is known nationally as Pride month where we get to celebrate and accept LGBTQ+ individuals and their diversity.
It’s also a time to bring awareness for those in the LGTBQ+ community that experience suicide or suicidal thoughts.
The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBQ) young people
Here are the top-line statistics from The Trevor Project:
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 24 (Hedegaard, Curtin, & Warner, 2018) — and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth are at significantly increased risk.
- LGBTQ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020).
- The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ youth (13-24) seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S. — and at least one attempts suicide every 45 seconds.
- The Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that 45% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth.
“One accepting adult decreases the risk of suicide by 40% for LGBTQ young people” (The Trevor Project). Family, peer, and societal acceptance can help build and support the well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals.
This month is a perfect time to start a conversation about how we can help these individuals in feeling accepted. By educating ourselves and creating a dialogue, we can help reduce these statistics in our community.
If you or someone you know are thinking about suicide call the national suicide prevention lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
For more resources about LGTBQ youth visit, thetrevorproject.com or wyomingequality.org.
If you have questions or would like to request additional information on prevention resources in Sweetwater County contact Shelby Gordon or Shae Bell at (307) 352-6677 or email sweetwatercoprevention@gmail.com.
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