Make it Better Project

In Crisis: If you or someone you know is in crisis and is considering suicide call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Trevor Project Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386. The hotline is free, confidential, and runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Suicide Prevention

The Trevor Project is the national provider of life-saving resources to LGBTQ youth and their families.  The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide. Visit their sites for more information, or take a look at the links below for a sample of their resources.

• Warning Signs: It is important to know the warning signs of depression and suicide so that you can indentify when you or your friends need help.
• Risk Factors for Suicide: Who is most likely to be at risk?
• What to Do: Know the facts, recognize imminent dangers, take it seriously, be willing to listen, seek professional help, and follow up.
• How to Help Someone who is Suicidal

Find Support Online

There are tons of online communities, such as TrevorSpace, that can provide confidential support to you and your friends.  You can find resources including books, videos, hotline information, and more at Amplify Your Voice and Safe Schools Coalition.

File a Complaint at Your School

If you are being bullied or harassed, talk to supportive adults and then file a complaint at your school.

All schools should have policies in place to address bullying and harassment. Filing a complaint is your first step to stopping harassment. Make sure to record your actions each time you file a complaint to a school administrator or have a conversation with your teacher. 

If teachers and administrators seem unwilling to stop the bullying and harassment, contact a legal organization such as the ACLU, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, Transgender Law Center, or Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (New England Only). Records of your interactions with the school staff might be essential to these organizations’ efforts to enforce your right to be safe in school.

To find out more, check out PFLAG and GLSEN’s Claim Your Rights Project.

Equal Rights Advocates provides free, confidential legal advice through an Advice and Counseling Hotline for youth who are facing sexual harassment, gender-based bullying, and sex discrimination in school. You can call their hotline at 1-800-839-4372.

Find Supportive Adults

Organizations like GSA Network, PFLAG, COLAGE, and GLSEN have chapters all over the country! Adults in these organizations and many others are dedicated to making schools safer for LGBT youth. Locate an organization near you with supportive adults. Many cities across the country have organizations serving LGBT youth and their allies. Google “LGBT youth center” and the name of your town, city, or a city near you.