Following Donald Trump’s tweets about a trans military ban and Texas’ bathroom bill, The Trevor Project reports a steep increase in crisis contacts from transgender youth.
Founded in 1998, The Trevor Project is the largest LGBTQ youth crisis intervention & suicide prevention organization in the United States.
On Wednesday (2 August), the non-profit released a statement saying contacts dramatically rose following these two instances. People can contact the organization via calls, texts, and online chats.
‘Of the approximately 178 contacts per day (on average) received by The Trevor Project, 7.3 percent typically self-identify as transgender,’ the statement reads. ‘However, within 24 hours after President Trump’s tweet regarding transgender military service members, contacts from transgender individuals spiked to 17.5 percent of all contacts.’
Furthermore, contacts from transgender people rose to 14.7 the week following the introduction of the bathroom bill.
Trevor Project CEO and Executive Director Amit Paley commented on the statistics. He said: ‘This data makes clear that our elected officials can no longer ignore that their anti-transgender rhetoric is putting lives at risk.
‘Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation directly leads to crisis among our community’s young people,’ he continued. ‘While The Trevor Project will continue to be there for them around the clock, our elected officials must stop throwing young people into crisis for political gain. Discrimination is un-American, and we will hold to account those legislators who attack the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQ community.’
The future is unclear
Trump’s administration has not been an ally to the trans community. Beyond the tweets and bathroom bill, the administration is pulling back on protections for trans students. Media representation is abysmally nonexistent and the 16th trans person was murdered in the US this week.
In a frustrating, scary, and dangerous time, resources like The Trevor Project are indispensable.
The organization is available 24/7/365 for LGBTQ young people who need to talk. You can call the Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386 or text and chat from 3-10pm EST every day here.
Gay Star News reached out to The Trevor Project for further comment.
