Youth's Lives Every Day
National Volunteer Weeks falls on the third week of April every year, it’s a moment to highlight the strength, commitment, passion and care of Trevor volunteers across the US and Mexico. Our volunteers demonstrate what it means to show up in a real tangible way for LGBTQ+ young people, every single day. Some of our volunteers have been with us for over 10 years, and others have just started their journey,but what they all have in common, no matter their age, geography or the multitude of identities they hold, is a common goal of showing up for queer and trans young people in their most vulnerable and painful moments. We could not do what we do without the continued dedication of these caring adults, and for that we are forever grateful.
In 2022, Trevor Mexico opened its doors to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ young people across the country. Today, our crisis services in Mexico and the US are fueled by incredible crisis workers and supported deeply by volunteer crisis counselors. Since the beginning of the year across both countries, volunteers have dedicated 74,766 hours of service and connected with 44,413 crisis contacts.
We wanted to understand how our volunteers show up across the US and Mexico while navigating different cultural and political contexts. What we learned: How these different realities intersect under a shared purpose and care for LGBTQ+ young people.
Our volunteers’ motivations are simple and universal: they can help, so they do.
This was something felt deeply by both U.S. and Mexico volunteers. Even though they are in two different countries, it was clear that following Trevor’s mission is their collective North Star. As one volunteer put it, “This shared mission creates a community that transcends distance and connects us in the mutual shared values of dignity, respect, and care.”
Volunteers show up to provide a safe space. A space where LGBTQ+ youth can be heard, can receive genuine empathy, and can hear their experience spoken back to them in real language.
Because the need to be heard and understood is universal.
Being on the lines is not easy. As one volunteer noted, it can be “difficult, rewarding, joyful, heartbreaking, challenging, and can sometimes stretch us to our limits.” And still, volunteers stay on the lines. They listen. They hold space. Because even in the hardest moments, there is meaning in being there for someone when they need it most.
That is a privilege.
No matter where you live or where you are, LGBTQ+ youth need to feel validated.
“Providing a safe space, free of judgment, can lessen the intense pain that the youth is experiencing and opens the door for hope. As one volunteer expressed, “pain and loneliness may look different across places, but vulnerability and the need for connection is universal.”
And even in a single conversation, change can begin.
Volunteers come to this work from many places, with different lived experiences, professions, and identities. Some are parents, like one volunteer who said that “being the parent of a neurodivergent LGBTQ+ teenager… makes me want to ensure there are accessible safe spaces for them.”
Others bring both personal and professional connections: They tell us, My family and I share lived experience within the LGBTQ+ community… I know firsthand what it looks like when young people are loved and accepted.”
And many recognize the gaps that still exist.
Volunteers point out that, in some communities, “there are still stigmas, disinformation, and barriers to culturally competent mental health services.” Others have witnessed discrimination firsthand: “I have seen teachers and colleagues openly share their dislike… and that has motivated me to be the opposite of those people.”
So they make a choice.
They choose to be the one who listens. The one who meets youth exactly where they are and reminds them that they are worthy of care and acceptance.
What keeps them here, especially in the hardest moments, is purpose.
“The profound conviction that early empathetic intervention can make a big difference in the life of a youth in crisis.”
“Knowing this might be the only place where they feel validated.”
“If I can help, then I have to do it… I am here to be of service to those in need.”
For some volunteers, this work is personal.
Maybe they didn’t have spaces like this growing up. Maybe their children didn’t. Or maybe they did and they understand just how life changing that support can be.
Either way, the motivation is the same: to make sure those spaces exist and remain available so that no young person has to navigate this world alone.
Volunteers believe in what The Trevor Project is doing because it is urgent. Because it is necessary.
They value the structure and the support model, not just because it guides them, but because it allows them to show up more fully for the youth they serve. It helps them create conversations that feel safe, grounded, and free of judgment.
In those conversations, something shifts.
The weight of what a young person is carrying might not disappear, but it can feel lighter. There is space to breathe and to be heard. It is in those spaces where hope and healing can begin to exist.
As another volunteer beautifully said:“We’re all in the wildness together… seeking connection, meaning, and hope.”
At the end of the day, it comes back to something simple:
They can help…so they do.
