Photo of the blog's author, Leah Juliett.
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Clinging to Hope: Honoring C-PTSD Awareness Day

Content Warning/Author’s Note: My story is rooted in my lived experience as a survivor of multiple forms of sexual violence and suicidal ideation. Everyone living with C-PTSD has an entirely different story. In reflecting on my personal narrative, I use “she/her” pronouns to describe my childhood self, but I currently use “they/them” pronouns to describe myself in the present and future tense. I remember the feeling of my childhood carpet on my back as I stared at the ceiling for hours. At fourteen years old, I scribbled manic notes in my journal about not wanting to be alive, and ate…
Photo of Tyler, our Pride in Action hero.
Blog

Meet Tyler

“Being here with The Trevor Project is such a full circle moment for me, you know, people and an organization that helped save my life.” - Tyler (he/him) Growing up in a conservative, church-going household in West Virginia,Tyler found meaning in his family and his church. When Tyler started to come to terms with his gay identity, he started to become isolated from his community. Tyler reached out to The Trevor Project, where he found support and encouragement from counselors. Encouraged by his mom’s unwavering love, Tyler came out to his community and became an advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, eventually…
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Meet Carmen

“At the beginning of the school year, my guidance counselor reached out to me and asked me if I wanted her to get workplace training on trans identities. And initially I was hesitant. But they did have the workplace training, and I came across some of my former teachers and they expressed support for me. I went back to school my senior year, in person, and I had this fear of being misgendered or dead-named. And none of the teachers did.”  - Carmen (she/her) As a kid, Carmen found joy in her mom’s closet; she enjoyed dressing up in her…
Community

The Importance of Safe Language On Social Media

As a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ young people, The Trevor Project regularly sees unsafe language that many use on social media without consideration for others’ mental health. Whether targeting our organization, the LGBTQ+ young people we serve, or the judges, government officials, advocates, and supporters who work with us, there is an urgent need for social media platforms and their users to take action to protect the safety of our community. The Trevor Project is strongly aware of the negative impact that language can have on mental health; unsafe language and harassment is often directed at the LGBTQ+ youth…
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New Year’s Resolution Refresh

Last year, I wrote about New Year’s resolutions and the pressure to compete for prizes of self-care valor. I asked for a pause on the toxic pressure to be incredible — there’s no need to overcommit to a plan of self-improvement if that’s not your thing. But I do think it’s important to intentionally reflect on how you can improve your relationship to the world, and the first week of January can be a great time to do that. I have many personal resolutions for myself this upcoming year, one of them being to say hello to people I know…
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How to Go Home for the Holidays

Despite having two parents who loved me, a home, food, and clothes, I had pediatric depression. Christmas — the holiday that my family celebrates — became a primary challenge in my elementary school years. For whatever reason, whether it was the compulsory joy or the forced extended time spent with family, I found it nearly impossible to be happy on December 25. This was met with confusion and eventually anger from my mom, whose favorite holiday is Christmas. If she noticed my moping, I was to smile immediately. “Smile, wear the red velvet dress and white tights. I don’t care…
Photo of LGBTQ+ young people featured in episode 2 of Sharing Space with Nova Bright from The Trevor Project.
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Learn from LGBTQ+ Young People with Episode 2 of “Sharing Space”

Following the first episode of our educational series “Sharing Space” moderated by longtime Trevor supporter Daniel Radcliffe, we’re proud to launch our second episode featuring one of Trevor’s own: Nova Bright-Williams, our Head of Internal Training, Learning, and Development, speaking to LGBTQ+ young people about how we can best show up for them. This second episode of “Sharing Space'' features transgender, intersex, queer, and nonbinary young people who join Bright to talk about their experiences with gender euphoria, stigma, and acceptance. These candid conversations have the power to teach allies and LGBTQ+ people alike about the power of affirmation.  “I…
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Online Safety for LGBTQ+ Young People

The Trevor Project and our partner Gen have collaborated on a timely new Guide to Online Safety for LGBTQ+ Young People, allowing our young people and parents to explore positive ways for social media and the internet to build community and mitigate the risks of bullying, scams, and other dangers. Check out our Guide and consider sharing it with the young people in your life.
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The Value of Queer Latinx Joy

Written by Sue Cardenas-Soto (they/them), Copywriter National Latinx Heritage Month isn’t just a time to celebrate the histories and accomplishments of Latinx people — it’s also about learning about their struggles, their joys, and breaking down the barriers they face.  I can’t write about this without naming where my family is from, which intimately informs who I am. My dad is from and lives in Mexico City. My mom’s parents were Cuban refugees and missionaries who traveled across Latin America (Ecuador, Venezuela, El Salvador) before coming to the United States. My abuelo was a near-perfect archetype of a Cuban patriarch:…
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Practicing Self-Care, Step-by-Step

If you find yourself feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or just “off,” you’re not alone. Everyone needs to take care of themselves, even if it’s just enjoying a quick snack or doing simple breathing exercises. Self-care is essential, but it can be challenging to make time for it. And if you struggle with your mental health, it can be even tougher to make self-care a part of your routine. To make self-care a little easier, we made a guide that will take you step-by-step through different forms of self-care. You don’t have to follow it to the letter, but we hope this…