advice is greatly appreciated

Published Letter #987 - Posted in , and tagged as .

Question:

I just need some help raising awareness in my school. I can’t get others to see the LGBTQ suicide issues if my own hometown won’t, so any advice is greatly appreciated! ~ Gillian, and her GSA

Original letter submitted by:

Answer:

Dear Gillian,

I applaud you for striving to raise awareness in your community. It’s because of wonderful people like you that we are able to keep the mission of The Trevor Project alive! Suicide is a very sensitive subject that needs to be handled as such, so it’s great that you are seeking advice.

One of the best ways to raise awareness is to share the facts of suicide as it pertains to the LGBTQ community. However, as I mentioned before, it needs to be handled  carefully. Studies have shown that there are ways to discuss suicide that actually increase the likelihood of individuals attempting it. So, it’s important to keep that in mind as you are discussing this topic with others. Thankfully, there are resources available to help you.

Here is a link to The Trevor Project’s fact sheet on suicide: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/suicide-prevention/facts-about-suicide. On the fact sheet, you’ll also find links to where the information was gotten. All of the facts that Trevor Project uses are from reliable sources. Also, we have a page on talking about suicide in a safe way, located here: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/Suicide%20Prevention/Safe%20Messaging. This page provides you with links to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network’s article on “Talking about Suicide and LGBT populations,” as well as a link to an article on reporting suicide. My advice is to look at the fact sheet and then read the other two articles to see how best you can get the message across about LGBTQ suicide issues.

Also, if there is a teacher or counselor at your school whom you feel comfortable talking about this issue with, maybe they can help you find a creative way to share the information. That is my second piece of advice: find people who can support your cause and get help from a trusted adult at your school. Good luck in your endeavors and let us know how it goes!

Sincerely,
Trevor