What is The Trevor Project?
By Anna Buescher
I’m sure you, the reader, have heard of the Trevor Project, but since you clicked on this article titled “What Is The Trevor Project?”, you may not have an extensive knowledge about what it really entails. Worry not this article will teach you all you need to know. The Trevor Project does a lot for the LGBTQ+ community. They have trained crisis managers to help queer youth in crisis. They also aid research and help spread education and information on LGBTQ+ issues. Let’s break these down one by one.
First let’s talk about crisis management. The Trevor Project offers free crisis counseling to those in need. Counselors are volunteers who go through training to handle crisis situations. These counselors are working a 24/7 suicide/ crisis hotline available both online and over the phone. The Trevor project’s mission statement is “To end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) young people”. You can text a crisis line by texting the word “start” to 678-678, or you can go online to www.thetrevorproject.org to chat online. They also have a hotline at 1-866-488-7386.
Aside from crisis management, the Trevor Project offers a safe online space for queer youth. With over 400,000 members, their online social community offers a safe and affirming place for queer youth 13-24. They also offer a resource center for all questions LGBTQ+. This includes a direct search engine and available articles to further your knowledge on all things LGBTQ+. Their website offers an easy exit strategy for those in unsafe situations. If you hit “enter” three times the website will shoot you back to google.
The Trevor Project is involved in research. They are committed to providing research that brings knowledge and clinical implications into the field of LGBTQ+ mental health and suicide research. They have surveys they send out to collect data on LGBTQ+ youth mental health and translate their findings so that anyone can read and comprehend the statistics. They have a large team of researchers who work hard to share and spread helpful information and shocking statistics.
Sharing articles on helpful queer topics is an underused resource the Trevor Project has to offer. They work hard to write articles spanning broad topics from laws being passed to proper allyship articles. Each article is unique and informative, and they are written by wonderful trusted authors.
They are also frontiers in advocacy writing and passing legislation and pushing education around the country. They are working hard to end conversion therapy by passing bills banning it and spreading education about what it entails.
The Trevor Project creates a safe space for all LGBTQ+ youth. They do an incredible amount of work to prevent suicides in queer youth and are an amazing resource for all things LGBTQ+. Their team of researchers work hard to put an end to suicide and their goal is to create a world where they are no longer needed. The community they have created is much needed and well used. Now that you have a better understanding of the Trevor Project I hope you utilize their free and incredibly helpful resources and pass on your knowledge to those who may need it.
About the Author
Anna Buescher is a current junior at Butler university studying Biology and French. She uses she/they pronouns and identifies as a queer woman. She is passionate about LGBTQ+ rights, climate change, fungi and much much more. You can reach out to her at abuescher@butler.edu.