In honor of Pride Month, this episode explores mental health for LGBTQ+ young people. NAMI’s Chief Advocacy Officer Hannah Wesolowski is joined by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen (The Trevor Project) and Taylor Locke (NAMI Next Gen, NAMI New York State). Together, the trio discusses recent research from The Trevor Project about mental health among LGBTQ+ youth, the importance of supportive adults for LGBTQ+ young people, how communities can reduce the risk of suicide for young queer people, and more.
Learn more from The Trevor Project's research here.
You can find additional episodes of this NAMI podcast and others at nami.org/podcast.
"Hope Starts With Us" is a podcast by NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. It is hosted by NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison, Jr.
Co-executive produced by Traci Coulter and Connor Larsen.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
We have to explicitly signal to LGBTQplus young people
that a place is safe and welcoming,or they're not going to think that it is,
and therefore they're less likelyto reach out for help when they need it.
That's why it's really essentialthat we have specialized services
like 988 Press 3.
(00:20):
Hello.
Welcome to Hope Starts With Us,a podcast by NAMI,
the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
I'm your guest hosttoday, Hannah Wesolowski, NAMI's
Chief Advocacy Officer and I use she/herpronouns.
NAMI started this podcast becausewe believe that hope starts with us.
Hope starts with ustalking about mental health.
Hope starts with us making informationaccessible.
(00:42):
Hope starts with usproviding resources and practical advice.
Hope starts with us sharing our stories,and hope starts with us
breaking the stigma.
If you or loved one is strugglingwith a mental health condition
and have been looking for hope,you made this podcast for you.
Hope starts with all of us.
Hope is a collective.
We hope that each episode,with each conversation brings
(01:03):
you into that collectiveso you know you're not alone.
So today I am delighted to be joinedby two special guests.
I'd like to welcome Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen,Senior Vice President of public engagement
campaigns at the Trevor Project.
Hi, Rodrigo. Hi. Thanks for having me.
Yes, well, thank you for being here.
The Trevor Project is the leading suicideprevention and crisis intervention
(01:27):
nonprofit for LGBTQ plus young people.
NAMI is proud to work side by sidewith The Trevor Project in our advocacy,
and I'm also delighted towelcome Taylor Locke.
Taylor is a member of NAMI NextGen,our 2026 cohort, incredible leader
in NAMI's community, and Tayloralso serves as Program Manager at NAMI
(01:48):
New York State. Hi, Taylor.
Hi, Hannah.
Thank you so much.
Very much looking forward to today'sconversation.
Me too, me too.
And what we're going to talk abouttoday is really highlighting Pride Month
and the mental health of the LGBTQplus community.
Just to give some high level statsto start this off, Trevor Project,
you all do amazing job.
(02:09):
You do the national surveyon the mental health of LGBTQ plus young
people, and I want to share a fewstartling numbers for our listeners today.
These are important numbers,so make sure you sit back and listen.
44% of LGBTQplus youth who wanted mental health
care in the past yearwere not able to get it. 44%.
(02:30):
36% of LGBTQ plus young peopleseriously considered
attempting suicide in the past year.
That's more than 1 in 3.
And 1 in 10 LGBTQ plus young peopleattempted suicide in the past year.
This is unacceptable.
We have so much work to do,and yet we've also come so far.
So in today's episodes,we're going to talk about
(02:52):
our guests' own lived experience,as well as steps that we can take
to build a more welcoming, loving worldwhere everyone can get the
mental health care that they needand that they deserve.
So, Taylor, Rodrigo,thank you for being here.
And let's get into the conversation.
So, Rodrigo, I want to start with you.
Can you set the stage for our listenersand tell us a bit more about the Trevor
(03:12):
Project's research,why you do it, and sorry for stealing
a little bit of your thunder by sharingsome of those stats, but some of the key
findings and what you learned from them.
Well,that is the best way to have our thunder
be stolenby having our research cited up top.
So we love it.
Well, thank you again for the invitationto join you all here today.
I mean, as you mentioned, Trevor Project,we're the leading suicide
(03:36):
prevention and crisis interventionorganization for LGBTQ plus young people,
what were most known for is our 24/7crisis services.
We have call, text, and chat for any LGBTQyoung person
who needs somebody to talk to.
But what some folks don't knowis that in addition to those life
(03:59):
saving services, we also have a numberof prevention programs.
Our goal ultimately is to keep LGBTQyoung people from entering
that kind of crisis in the first place.
So in order to do that,we have to know what young people on
the ground are experiencing day to dayand what impacts are happening
(04:19):
on their mental health.
So that'swhere our research comes into play.
Over the last several years,Trevor Project has conducted
some of the largest and in some cases,the only studies that examine
the mental health of LGBTQplus young people here in the US.
(04:39):
And our latest publication was justreleased last month, just released in May.
There is a treasuretrove of data out there,
so I really encourage peopleto check out our website to learn more.
But we surveyed more than 16,000LGBTQ plus young people, ages 13 to 24,
all across the United States.
This is our seventh national survey, sowe're also able to see changes over time.
(05:03):
And these really give a lot of insight,both into the risk
factors that negatively impactyoung people's mental health,
but also the protective factorsthat support their well-being.
So that's, I think, really exciting thatwe get to see both sides of that coin.
Yeah, and I use the research quite oftenwhen I'm out there advocating.
And so very grateful to youall for doing it.
(05:28):
What can you tell us aboutsome of the trends or findings
from this year's report that show uswhy our advocacy for LGBTQ plus
young people is so important right now?
Well, two big things really came out.
One was the severity.
You know, sadly, it just was undeniablein the data that LGBTQ
(05:48):
plus young people are facingan urgent mental health crisis.
And secondly,well, really emerged
was that this crisis is not because ofjust the sheer fact of being LGBTQ plus,
but ratherbecause of how young people are mistreated
as a result of their identity.
And that's a really,really important distinction.
(06:11):
So on the first piece about the severityof the crisis, you cited
some of these statistics up at the top.
But overall,we found that LGBTQ plus young people face
high rates of considering suicideand of attempted suicide.
And the rates, tragically,are even higher for transgender
(06:31):
and non-binary young people in particular.
We also said thatLGBTQ youth of color experience
higher rates of suicide riskscompared to their white peers,
and the study showed that 1 in 10young people
attempted suicide in the past year.
Not just considered, but attempted.
1 in 10 is obviously far too high.
(06:53):
And then to the second pointabout the contributing factors here,
our latest surveyreally made it clear that LGBTQ plus young
people are experiencing these higher ratesnot because of who
they are, but because of howthey're stigmatized by others.
So, you know, these young peopleare facing a lot of challenges
(07:13):
that they're straight or cisgender,meaning non transgender peers
may not have to worry about.
But again, it's not just thatan inherent part of being LGBT.
It's really about the discrimination.
There was a whole category of behavioror experiences that young people reported
(07:37):
having that fall under the umbrellaof anti-LGBTQ victimization.
So that's things like being bullied,being physically threatened, being harmed,
being discriminated againstbecause of their sexual orientation
or gender identity, being subjectedto conversion therapy, so on and so forth.
This is really about how other peopleare treating them
(07:58):
especially more often the adults intheir lives are treating them.
We found thatthose who experienced
any of those anti-LGBTQ victimizationwere three times as likely
to attempt suicide in the past year,actually I take that back,
more than three times as likely to attemptsuicide compared to their peers.
(08:22):
Still, LGBTQ plus young peoplewho did not have any of those experiences.
So this really paints a picture,makes it undeniable that it's
about how they are being treated.
And to me,that does give a bit of a silver lining,
because it means this is preventable.
It means we can actually change it.
(08:43):
It's not something beyond our control.
It's something we as adults,especially and as allies, can.
If we can changehow a young person is treated,
then we can end this mental health crisis.
Yeah.
And what you said this mental healthcrisis is not about who they are,
but how they are stigmatizedand discriminated against.
And that we can do something aboutit is really powerful and something that
(09:06):
I hope everyone walks away thinkingabout how they can contribute to that.
We'll talk about that more.
Taylor,I want to bring you into the conversation.
You're a young leader at NAMI.
You work with NAMI New York State.
You're part of NAMI Next Gen cohort,which is an amazing group of young people
who are helping to make sure that NAMIdoesn't just try to reach young people,
(09:27):
but that is inclusive of young peopleand that you're really represented
in the work that we dothroughout the organization.
So thank you for that.
But I would love to hearwhat was your path, what led you to
becoming a mental health advocateand being here with us today?
Thank you, Hannah.
And I also just want to saythank you to NAMI.
(09:48):
It's such a great organizationand is really just empowered me so much
as a young advocate to be where I am todayin the mental health space.
I never really plannedon going into mental health advocacy.
I did my undergraduate studiesin math and physics,
and I was actually in a militaryscholarship program for ROTC to work
on nuclear reactors for the United StatesNavy upon graduating from school.
(10:12):
So very,very different set of life circumstances
that brought me to where I am today.
But, you know, when I was going to school,it was during the start
of the pandemic withCOVID, so it was isolation.
And a little bit of an activationtrigger warning.
I was sexually assaultedduring my freshman year
(10:32):
of college on campus,and what really stood out to me
at the time wasn'tso much of what I was going through
with the assaultand the mental health challenges I had,
but the way that I was being treatedby my school, my institution,
with like the victim blamingand putting me on an involuntary medical
leave of absence, sending me as a queerperson back home to a toxic environment
(10:54):
that wasn't accepting.
And the contrast between thatand the support that I received from
my military advisors was shocking,because I received
significantly more supportfrom my military advisors,
for my mental healthchallenges, for the assault
and even being a queer person than I didfrom my institution of higher learning.
(11:15):
And that was just, again,something that was completely shocking
to me and really eye openingto the way that our systems are built
and our failing young people,particularly young queer people.
And it was kind of overcoming all of that.
That really started me on my advocacyjourney of turning my pain
into purpose through my lived experience,to try to change and challenge
(11:38):
these systems.
So that way, we can be betterat supporting young people
and meeting them where they are.
Thank you for talking with us,and thank you for your advocacy
to help other people, to make surethat the generation that follows us has
every resource, every ounce of supportthat they deserve and can lead a healthy
and fulfilling life.
(12:01):
Rodrigo, I'd love to hear a little bitabout your journey,
about how you came here and how you,you know, came to be working
and this mental health advocacy world.
Sure.
Well,I really came into this also by accident.
So in some ways,what Taylor, what you shared
kind of reminds me of thenot straightforward path.
(12:24):
But for me, it was also bornout of personal experience.
I'm a transgender man,so that means I was raised as a girl but
ultimately transitioned to live as a manI know myself to be.
And when I was growing up,I didn't really know anything
about what it meant to be trans.
(12:45):
I didn't know thatword. It wasn't on my radar.
And so I-- and I really struggled.
As a result.
I was depressed, I was feelinglike I couldn't connect with people
and I couldn't figure out why.
Because objectively, quite a lot of thingsin my life were going well,
(13:06):
so I didn't really know whyI was struggling.
But later, when I was in college,I had the opportunity to meet
other trans people and to learnabout transgender history and transgender
topics.
And all of a suddenit was like a light bulb went off.
I knew who I was, I knew what was goingon, and it was like a fog lifted.
(13:28):
I mean, really, that was transformationalin terms of my mental health.
Now, lookingback on those mental health struggles
I was having, especially as a teenager,it's almost like it happened
to somebody else, you know, because nowthere's such a contrast in a good way.
Now I'm feeling very much ableto have relationships,
(13:49):
I've been married for over a decade.
I'm thriving in my career,and this is all positive.
So and I share that to really--because it's what a lot of other trans
people experience as well.
Not universally everybody's differentbut it does paint this picture
that a lot of us have of or a lot of ustrans people experience where we were
(14:11):
struggling before, whether we couldput our finger on it or not.
Something was not clicking.
And then when we were able to liveas our authentic selves,
it's like it clicked into place.
And I want every trans personto be able to have that experience. I
don't wantanother person like me
to spend their teenage yearsfeeling isolated and alone and unsupported
(14:36):
when they don't have to.
This is a solvable problem.
This is absolutely preventable.
And, you know,I would just add that sometimes
people can kind of misconstruethis experience to think, well,
if you hadn't learned, if you hadn'tbeen exposed to transgender ideas,
(14:57):
then you wouldn't be transgender.
But the truth is,I was always transgender.
I just didn't have the words.
And having the wordsthat allowed me to get support
and acceptance and be able to thrive.
So the--it's not as simpleas just black or white.
You can't turn off being trans,and you can't deprive a child
(15:18):
of the knowledge that trans people existand think that that will change who
they are.
We are who we areno matter what language we have.
But if we have the languageand we have the support,
and we have adults in our liveswho can help us, then we can thrive.
So that'swhat can turn that experience around.
So that's how I came to this work.
And I'm really trying to make a pathso that other young people
(15:40):
who are struggling can see thatthey can have a bright, healthy future
no matter what it looks like today.
I love that,and I love that both of you have used
your own lived experience to really, trulyhelp others and hopefully
make their path easier.
And so I just feel so fortunateI get to have this conversation
(16:01):
with you today.
I wanted to talk a little bit aboutsome of the barriers that are out there.
We talked at the topabout how 44% of LGBTQ plus young people
who wanted mental health carecould not get it, 44% could not get it.
That's disturbing,but not altogether surprising.
(16:23):
And I'm hoping each ofyou can talk a little bit--
what are some of the barriersthat we are seeing that are
keeping peoplefrom getting the care that they need?
Rodrigo, I'll go to you first.
We'd love to hear your thoughts.
Sure.
Well, we did ask young people about thisin our research to again,
we don't want to make assumptions.
(16:45):
We want to really verify and verify anyinclinations we may have or any guesses.
We have to make sureit's rooted in the evidence.
And what we found isthat there is a whole variety of barriers,
but some of the top ones were number one,that they could not afford it.
That's not unique to LGBTQplus young people, right?
But it is still a widespread problem.
(17:08):
Number two, I was afraid to talk about mymental health concerns with someone else.
I was afraid I wouldn't be--and
then all the ones (17:15):
I was afraid I wouldn't be taken seriously.
I was scared someone would call the policeor involuntarily hospitalized me, or
I did not feel that they would understandmy sexual orientation or gender identity.
So there are these very concretelogistical barriers,
like cost and transportationthat are critical.
And then there's these emotionalbarriers around fear
(17:36):
of how you will be treated.
A lot of LGBTQ plus young peopleare nervous that they won't be understood.
Or they're afraid that they will facenegative consequences
for seeking mental health care.
One thing that's really important,I think, especially for adults
to keep in mind,is that when any of us, adult
(17:59):
or a young person,think about talking with therapists
or reaching outto any kind of official institution,
there can be disproportionate concernsfor LGBT people about outing,
about the paper trail, and especiallyfor LGBTQ plus people who are minors.
There's a lot of worry aboutif I reach out for help,
(18:22):
is that going to triggersome kind of notification
to my parents or caretakers or teachersthat could have ripple effects because not
everybody is out necessarily.
Some of theseyoung people might be questioning,
so they're not even readyto make any kind of declarative statement.
And there's a lot of worryabout being outed or being sort of exposed
(18:50):
when they're notready, when they're not ready for that.
So I think there's a lot of workwe have to do as a society to destigmatize
asking for help, period.
You know, for all of us in our society,but also to make a more safe and welcoming
environment for LGBTQ young peoplewho have some specific concerns.
Yeah.
And I'll just say on that last point,you know, obviously
(19:12):
it doesn't speakto the entirety of the care continuum.
But, you know, when somebody is in crisis,something that NAMI and The Trevor
Project have workedclosely on is restoring the Press 3 option
and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline,which was the specialized services
line for LGBTQplus youth and young adults.
So when they called 988, they could talkto somebody who understood them, who
(19:37):
maybe had a shared languageor shared background,
or who had the training to understandwhat they were coming from.
And unfortunately,that line was eliminated last July.
Because of the leadership of the TrevorProject and NAMI
was proud to be part of this work,you know,
we have heard recently a commitmentto bring back that line.
(20:00):
Secretary Kennedyhas confirmed in a hearing with the Senate
that that's in progressand was part of a recent contract
that 988 has to operate.
So I want to thank the Trevor Projectfor their leadership on that.
But I think that's just part and parcelof the larger ecosystem of making sure
(20:20):
that young people feel supportedand understood and safe
when they're reaching out for help.
Absolutely.
I mean, we can see herethat if a young person is struggling,
which, by the way,they might be struggling
because of somethingthat has to do with being LGBTQ or not.
But if they happen to be LGBTQand they are hurting
(20:43):
and they need somebody to talk to,we see from the data that it is critical
that they feel confidentthat when they pick up the phone and call,
the person who answers, is going to bethoughtful, is not going to interrogate
them, is not going to threaten themwith conversion
therapy, in a really bad scenario.
(21:07):
We have to explicitly signal to LGBTQplus young people
that a place is safe and welcoming,or they're not going to think
that it is, and there,and therefore they're less likely
to reach out for help when they need it.
So we that'swhy it's really essential that we have
specialized services like 988 Press 3.
(21:29):
And thank you, NAMI,for all of your support
in establishing 988 to begin with.
And now in trying to bring it back,we have to have these services
restored for these young peoplewho are hurting today, right now.
And the TrevorProject stands ready to work
with anyone with the powerto bet these services back online.
(21:51):
At the end of the day,the most important thing
is that these young peopleget the care that they need.
And we will work with anyoneit takes to get that done.
Absolutely.
We've got to work togetherto make it happen.
Taylor, as somebodywhose role with NAMI right now is to
make surethat the conversations are reflective of,
you know, the youth and young adultcommunity and who's working with young
(22:15):
adult leaders across the NAMI alliance.
I'm wondering if the themes thatThe Trevor Project found in their research
for barriers to accessing care kind of,you know, ring true to you.
What have you been hearingas you're talking to other young people?
What are the barriers that they're facing?
Yeah, absolutely.
(22:36):
I think first, you know, the fear aroundbeing outed is so real and valid.
And I think there's such a huge parallelbetween the fear of being outed
as a young queer person versus just beingouted as someone with mental illness,
like the fear and the stigma surroundingboth of those issues are separate
but so interrelated.
(22:57):
So when you're askingtrying to get care and support
with your mental health challenges,but that's deeply and related to,
you know, the gender dysphoriathat you're feeling or trying
to navigate your gender identityand your sexuality.
There's just that additional outedlayer to that.
And I've seen it a lot with both throughmy own lived experience as well as other
(23:20):
young people that I've worked with, havingjust that huge fear and societal stigma.
And I think the other piece tookind of going back
to about making surethat there are care providers
that are understanding and supportive,but also you can resonate with.
This is particularly prevalentacross like schools at like
(23:41):
both the K through 12 and the collegiatelevel with counseling centers
where the majority of councilors are, youknow, elderly, cis, straight white men.
And that does not resonatewith young queer people.
And it also makes it that much harderto be able to start that conversation,
because you're tryingto open up about something
that's deeply personal, and you don't knowif you can trust this person,
(24:02):
you don't have that connection.
You're not able to resonate with someone.
And that just leads to additional anxietyabout trying to open up
about these challenges.
And I think another thingjust in terms of direct access
to care is also genderaffirming care in addition to the removal
of the Press 3 option on 998,there's also been major cuts and pushbacks
(24:25):
to gender affirming care,or even just conversations
about what gender affirming care or genderaffirming language looks like.
I know some NAMI state organizationsand affiliates that have heard throughout
the Alliance have sharedthat even like NAMI Ending the Silence,
they're getting push backabout being able
to bring that into schoolsbecause of fears of you're
coming into classrooms and teaching kidshow to be trans.
(24:48):
And it's like,that's not what that's about at all.
And that's also notwhat gender affirming care is.
That's just about, again,meeting young people where they are
and supporting and accepting them.
We're not going in there trying to convertpeople into being a certain way.
It's about acceptance.
So I think trying to be very open publicunderstanding about what
(25:08):
these conversations actually look like.
And again,it's just at the end of the day,
meeting young people where they areand giving them
the support that they need.
Well, said Taylor, it's so importantthat we show support and in so many ways,
and there'sunfortunately a plethora of challenges
right now that are making youngpeople feel disregarded and not seen.
(25:33):
And, you know, kind of bringing it backto a statistic
that you mentioned earlier, Rodrigo,think you said that
young--a LGBTQplus young person who does not live in,
in accepting community has a suicide--three times the suicide rate
then LGBTQ plus young peoplewho do live in accepting communities.
(25:55):
I get that right.
Yeah. Yeah that's right.
And again, it really showsthat this is a solvable problem
because it-- as tragic as it isthat those in unsupportive
communities are struggling, it also meansthat on the other side of that coin,
those who are in supportive communitiesare much more likely to thrive.
(26:16):
So we can do something about this.
We can turn, we can turn the needle.
What does it look like to livein an accepting community?
What can communities, what can all of usbe doing to show young people
that they're accepted and cared forand supported for who they are?
What would be your suggestionsor good reminders for our listeners today?
Yeah, absolutely.
(26:37):
Well, we also asked young peoplethis in our survey.
So I've got,you know, I'm just full of data here
because our survey is hot off the presses.
I love it.
So what we askedthem, themselves,
what are some of the top actionsthat people in your life
can take to show support and acceptance?
What was scoredthe highest meaning the most,
(27:00):
the highest number of LGBTQ young peoplesaid, this is what I want to see from
the (27:03):
Trust that I know who I am.
Don't support politiciansadvancing anti-LGBTQ legislation.
So to Taylor's point,there's been fortunately, a tsunami
of especially anti-transgender lawsbeing passed in in state legislatures.
So that is top of mindfor these young people,
(27:25):
both those who are transgenderor non-binary and those who are not,
by the way,so non transgender, LGB, lesbian, gay
or bisexualyoung people still take note of this
and still see this as an indicatorof whether or not this adult in their
life is supportive of them.
So trust that I know who I am.
Don't support politiciansadvancing anti-LGBTQ plus legislation.
(27:49):
Stand up for me.
One thing that I draw from thatis that the act of an adult
standing up for you is important.
Even if it doesn't work, so to speak.
Meaning even--so,if some other adult is being disrespectful
towards the young personand you as an ally, stand up for them.
(28:12):
Maybe you don't successfully changethe mind of the person
who's committing that harassment.
But the fact that you tried still matters.
The young person still sees it,they notice it and that is encouraging.
So I think it's important for usto not kind of throw in the towel
(28:33):
and go, oh, well, that person is beingdisrespectful towards someone else.
They can't be convinced, so why bother?
The act of you bothering is important.
That is, that is still criticaland meaningful and we should all do it.
Also show supportfor how I express my gender.
That can mean things like clothing,you know, letting them dress
in the clothing that feels right for them,how they wear their hair, you know,
(28:56):
cutting their hair, styling their hair,adopting a new name,
things like that means different thingsto different people, but show support
for how I express my gender.
Look up things about LGBTQ plus identitieson your own to better understand.
So some self-education.
Ask questions about LGBTQplus identities to better understand,
(29:19):
have or display pride flagsand show support on social media.
And I'll remind us that our research showsthat when an LGBTQ plus
young person reports having evenone accepting adult in their life,
their odds of attempting suicidecan lower by 40%, 4-0.
(29:39):
So even if you are in an environment whereother people around
you might not be supportive,you even being that one teacher
or that one therapist,or that one care provider,
or that one social worker, or just friend,a parent of a friend, being
that one adult can be very meaningful.
(30:00):
40%. Just having oneperson can reduce--wow, I mean that.
So all the adults listening, be thatperson, be that person in your community,
whether you're a parent, aunt,uncle, a teacher, or coach, a therapist,
whatever your role is,if you're with some people,
be that person,you can make such a difference.
(30:22):
Taylor, what would you add?
What can people dowho are listening right now?
Yeah, I think the first thing, obviouslyI just want to start with,
like I agree so muchwith everything that Rodrigo shared.
And I think that that really tellsthat, again, this is coming from the data
that's informed by young queerpeople across the country.
Again, I'm just seeing so manysimilar things in my work.
(30:44):
I think one thing I'd addis a common misconception
I see when we talk aboutlike accepting spaces is people
confuse acceptance with understandingand think that they need to fully
understand someone else's lived experienceor everything about like
their gender identity and sexualityin order to accept them.
And that can't be further from the case.
(31:05):
Like, I do not understandhow to read music notes.
That doesn't mean I am like, oh, musicjust doesn't exist, and it doesn't mean
that I can't listen to someone elsewho's performing music
and respect that and appreciate the musicthat they're playing.
And like, this is the exact same way of,you don't need to fully understand
(31:25):
something like, yes, it's very--it's important to take that initiative
to self educate, because it also shouldn'tfall on someone who's trans
to have to continuously explaintheir gender identity to someone else.
That's just,you know, tiresome and everything.
That said,you don't have to fully understand,
nor would you be able to necessarilyfully understand
(31:47):
someone's lived experienceand unique gender identity and sexuality.
So I think starting with that,that distinction is really important
because I think for a lot of folks, too,that becomes a hurdle
if they're trying to work towardsacceptance where they feel overwhelmed,
they feel that there's too-- it'stoo confusing, there's too much,
(32:09):
you know, with everything,with all the different types
of sexualitiesand gender identities out there,
and they're not willing to take thatfirst step.
So I think noticing whatthat difference is,
and on a similar noteto something I get a lot is with the usage
of just respecting people's pronouns,which is such a basic thing,
(32:30):
but unfortunatelyjust become such a problematic issue.
And to that I say it's like it'snot that hard, it's
just a basic thing ofyou know, human decency and respect.
If we're able to respectother people's names and,
you know, there's thousands of thoseyou can learn a few pronouns too.
So I think that's another thingthat's just really important to, again,
(32:54):
just treating young queer peoplewith the respect, the autonomy,
the agency that they deserve.
And if I could just piggyback off that.
Taylor, I love what you saidabout the music notes.
Yeah, I think in our very politicizedenvironment, it can
seem almost intimidatingto learn about transgender people.
(33:18):
I think our political environmenthas unfortunately made this seem,
I don't know, it'smade it more polarizing,
which loses sight of the factthat these are just people, right?
It's like I'm just a persontrying to get up in the morning
and go to workand then get to the grocery store
on time afterwards like anybody else.
Like it's not about me being trans, butabout this idea of like,
(33:42):
just that acceptance versus understanding.
I just want to underscore that because,yeah, in this political environment
especially,it can seem as the learning about
trans issues is somehowso intense that it's like taking a college
level course or something.
But for most of the LGBTQyoung people around us,
(34:05):
what they're really looking foris to know that they are safe with you,
that you're not going to hurt them,you're not going to try to change--
you're not trying to trying to denythat they're LGBT or change who they are
and that you can beyou are open to hearing them out
and still treating them with respect,even if they happen to disclose
(34:28):
that they're LGBT. It's really just abouttreating each
other with decency and kindnessno matter what.
And the music notes thingreminded me that in our--in the Trevor
Project survey, we had an openended question of what is one thing
you wish you could sayto the other people in your life,
(34:51):
if you could, if you could sayonly one thing and one of the responses
was an analogy like thatwhere the young person shared,
I don't understand the laws of physics,but I still know gravity exists.
I don't try to deny the existenceof gravity just because I don't understand
all the mathematical equationsof how we discovered gravity.
(35:13):
I just know it's a thing, right?
I know it,I know it's a thing and I acknowledge it
no matter what,even if I don't understand it.
So it just, it's funny to hear thatexact same, that same kind of analogy.
I think it shows how important this is.
People are just lookingto be treated with respect.
You don't need to understandall the intricacies.
(35:33):
Let's just treat each otherlike human beings.
Yeah, yeah,I think that's the perfect note to end on.
Actually.
We need to treat each otheras human beings, and acceptance
doesn't mean understanding,but it's about respect.
So just one last question, something thatwe ask everyone who's on this podcast.
(35:54):
You know,the world is a very difficult place,
and it can be hard to hold on to hope.
I know sometimes I struggle with thatand have to recenter myself
and think about what gives me hope.
So in each episode, we have the last fewminutes dedicated to holding on to hope.
What helps each of you hold on to hope?
(36:15):
Taylor, I'll go to you first.
Yeah, I think for me,knowing that I'm not alone.
I know earlier onwhen I was really struggling
with my mental illness earlymy recovery journey,
I felt like I was the only personin the world that felt that way.
And it was through finding this communityI've built up, through
(36:39):
for my found family, through my workwith NAMI, that I've been able
to recognize that I am not alone,and also the power that I felt in
being able to share my lived experience,to use my voice to empower others.
So that way that they can feel that waytoo, has also just been so inspiring.
(37:00):
And I think it's also worthnoting that when communities
come together, reallyjust anything is possible.
Like Rodrigo shared at the beginning,you know,
there is so much hope and inspirationwith,
you know, empowering young queer peopleand the work that we're doing.
So I think just remembering thatand not giving up that hope.
(37:24):
Amazing. Thank you for that.
And we're gladthat you found the NAMI community too.
Rodrigo, what about you?
What helps you hold on to hope?
What helps mehold on to hope is seeing how significant
of a difference one person can make.
This is a tough political climatefor a lot of us, even LGBT
(37:51):
people specificity aside,we're seeing funding
for a lot of mental health servicesacross the board get cut,
whether they bevery deliberate budget cuts
or just be kindof the ripple effects
of other kind of contracting the economy.
So, you know, there's--it's understandable
(38:12):
to be worriedabout the state of mental health
in this country for LGBTQplus young people and otherwise.
But then it's so encouraging to see thateven despite all these systemic barriers
and these cultural problemsand these really big, scary things,
one person can put up one prideflag and give hope to
(38:34):
maybe three other kids in the neighborhoodwho they don't even know.
Like, all of us can have a really positiveripple effect and improve things
even when we don't realize it.
You never knowwho's watching you, you know, it's
sort of like that pay it forward idea.
You never know what kind of ripple effectcould be happening.
(38:56):
So I draw a lot of inspiration and comfortfrom the fact that no matter
what is going on politically,we can still make differences
in our everyday lives.
We can still protect our families.
We can still providefor the people around us.
We can still create a safe harborno matter where you are or who you are.
So it's that power of the individual,despite it all,
(39:19):
that gives me a lot of hope.
That's so, so inspiring.
And you know, I hope folksremember how much difference they
can make just by takingsmall steps that may seem small to them
but are so meaningful to others.
So thank you both for those remindersand being with you
(39:40):
and the work of the NAMI Allianceand our partners, like the Trevor
Project, gives me so muchhope that we can really change things.
And if you want to learn more aboutthe Trevor Project's research, you can go
to thetrevorproject.org/research.
I encourage you to.
Fantastic data.
Really, really readable and usableand understandable too
(40:01):
so encourage you to check that out.
This has been HopeStarts With Us a podcast by NAMI,
the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
If you're looking for mental healthresources, you are not alone.
To connect with the NAMI HelpLine and findlocal resources, visit nami.org/help.
Text "HelpLine" to 62640or dial 1-800-950-NAMI.
(40:26):
That's 1-800-950-6264.
If you're experiencingan immediate suicide, substance
use, or mental health crisis,please call or text 988
to speak with a trained supportspecialist or visit 988lifeline.org.
And of course, pleasereach out to our friends
at The Trevor Project who provideamazing crisis resources as well.
(40:48):
I'm Hannah Wesolowski,your guest host today.
Thanks for listening.
Thank you Taylor and Rodrigo and be well.
We have to explicitly signal to LGBTQplus young people
that a place is safe and welcoming,or they're not going to think that it is,
and therefore they're less likelyto reach out for help when they need it.
That's why it's really essentialthat we have specialized services
like 988 Press 3.
(00:20):
Hello.
Welcome to Hope Starts With Us,a podcast by NAMI,
the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
I'm your guest hosttoday, Hannah Wesolowski, NAMI's
Chief Advocacy Officer and I use she/herpronouns.
NAMI started this podcast becausewe believe that hope starts with us.
Hope starts with ustalking about mental health.
Hope starts with us making informationaccessible.
(00:42):
Hope starts with usproviding resources and practical advice.
Hope starts with us sharing our stories,and hope starts with us
breaking the stigma.
If you or loved one is strugglingwith a mental health condition
and have been looking for hope,you made this podcast for you.
Hope starts with all of us.
Hope is a collective.
We hope that each episode,with each conversation brings
(01:03):
you into that collectiveso you know you're not alone.
So today I am delighted to be joinedby two special guests.
I'd like to welcome Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen,Senior Vice President of public engagement
campaigns at the Trevor Project.
Hi, Rodrigo. Hi. Thanks for having me.
Yes, well, thank you for being here.
The Trevor Project is the leading suicideprevention and crisis intervention
(01:27):
nonprofit for LGBTQ plus young people.
NAMI is proud to work side by sidewith The Trevor Project in our advocacy,
and I'm also delighted towelcome Taylor Locke.
Taylor is a member of NAMI NextGen,our 2026 cohort, incredible leader
in NAMI's community, and Tayloralso serves as Program Manager at NAMI
(01:48):
New York State. Hi, Taylor.
Hi, Hannah.
Thank you so much.
Very much looking forward to today'sconversation.
Me too, me too.
And what we're going to talk abouttoday is really highlighting Pride Month
and the mental health of the LGBTQplus community.
Just to give some high level statsto start this off, Trevor Project,
you all do amazing job.
(02:09):
You do the national surveyon the mental health of LGBTQ plus young
people, and I want to share a fewstartling numbers for our listeners today.
These are important numbers,so make sure you sit back and listen.
44% of LGBTQplus youth who wanted mental health
care in the past yearwere not able to get it. 44%.
(02:30):
36% of LGBTQ plus young peopleseriously considered
attempting suicide in the past year.
That's more than 1 in 3.
And 1 in 10 LGBTQ plus young peopleattempted suicide in the past year.
This is unacceptable.
We have so much work to do,and yet we've also come so far.
So in today's episodes,we're going to talk about
(02:52):
our guests' own lived experience,as well as steps that we can take
to build a more welcoming, loving worldwhere everyone can get the
mental health care that they needand that they deserve.
So, Taylor, Rodrigo,thank you for being here.
And let's get into the conversation.
So, Rodrigo, I want to start with you.
Can you set the stage for our listenersand tell us a bit more about the Trevor
(03:12):
Project's research,why you do it, and sorry for stealing
a little bit of your thunder by sharingsome of those stats, but some of the key
findings and what you learned from them.
Well,that is the best way to have our thunder
be stolenby having our research cited up top.
So we love it.
Well, thank you again for the invitationto join you all here today.
I mean, as you mentioned, Trevor Project,we're the leading suicide
(03:36):
prevention and crisis interventionorganization for LGBTQ plus young people,
what were most known for is our 24/7crisis services.
We have call, text, and chat for any LGBTQyoung person
who needs somebody to talk to.
But what some folks don't knowis that in addition to those life
(03:59):
saving services, we also have a numberof prevention programs.
Our goal ultimately is to keep LGBTQyoung people from entering
that kind of crisis in the first place.
So in order to do that,we have to know what young people on
the ground are experiencing day to dayand what impacts are happening
(04:19):
on their mental health.
So that'swhere our research comes into play.
Over the last several years,Trevor Project has conducted
some of the largest and in some cases,the only studies that examine
the mental health of LGBTQplus young people here in the US.
(04:39):
And our latest publication was justreleased last month, just released in May.
There is a treasuretrove of data out there,
so I really encourage peopleto check out our website to learn more.
But we surveyed more than 16,000LGBTQ plus young people, ages 13 to 24,
all across the United States.
This is our seventh national survey, sowe're also able to see changes over time.
(05:03):
And these really give a lot of insight,both into the risk
factors that negatively impactyoung people's mental health,
but also the protective factorsthat support their well-being.
So that's, I think, really exciting thatwe get to see both sides of that coin.
Yeah, and I use the research quite oftenwhen I'm out there advocating.
And so very grateful to youall for doing it.
(05:28):
What can you tell us aboutsome of the trends or findings
from this year's report that show uswhy our advocacy for LGBTQ plus
young people is so important right now?
Well, two big things really came out.
One was the severity.
You know, sadly, it just was undeniablein the data that LGBTQ
(05:48):
plus young people are facingan urgent mental health crisis.
And secondly,well, really emerged
was that this crisis is not because ofjust the sheer fact of being LGBTQ plus,
but ratherbecause of how young people are mistreated
as a result of their identity.
And that's a really,really important distinction.
(06:11):
So on the first piece about the severityof the crisis, you cited
some of these statistics up at the top.
But overall,we found that LGBTQ plus young people face
high rates of considering suicideand of attempted suicide.
And the rates, tragically,are even higher for transgender
(06:31):
and non-binary young people in particular.
We also said thatLGBTQ youth of color experience
higher rates of suicide riskscompared to their white peers,
and the study showed that 1 in 10young people
attempted suicide in the past year.
Not just considered, but attempted.
1 in 10 is obviously far too high.
(06:53):
And then to the second pointabout the contributing factors here,
our latest surveyreally made it clear that LGBTQ plus young
people are experiencing these higher ratesnot because of who
they are, but because of howthey're stigmatized by others.
So, you know, these young peopleare facing a lot of challenges
(07:13):
that they're straight or cisgender,meaning non transgender peers
may not have to worry about.
But again, it's not just thatan inherent part of being LGBT.
It's really about the discrimination.
There was a whole category of behavioror experiences that young people reported
(07:37):
having that fall under the umbrellaof anti-LGBTQ victimization.
So that's things like being bullied,being physically threatened, being harmed,
being discriminated againstbecause of their sexual orientation
or gender identity, being subjectedto conversion therapy, so on and so forth.
This is really about how other peopleare treating them
(07:58):
especially more often the adults intheir lives are treating them.
We found thatthose who experienced
any of those anti-LGBTQ victimizationwere three times as likely
to attempt suicide in the past year,actually I take that back,
more than three times as likely to attemptsuicide compared to their peers.
(08:22):
Still, LGBTQ plus young peoplewho did not have any of those experiences.
So this really paints a picture,makes it undeniable that it's
about how they are being treated.
And to me,that does give a bit of a silver lining,
because it means this is preventable.
It means we can actually change it.
(08:43):
It's not something beyond our control.
It's something we as adults,especially and as allies, can.
If we can changehow a young person is treated,
then we can end this mental health crisis.
Yeah.
And what you said this mental healthcrisis is not about who they are,
but how they are stigmatizedand discriminated against.
And that we can do something aboutit is really powerful and something that
(09:06):
I hope everyone walks away thinkingabout how they can contribute to that.
We'll talk about that more.
Taylor,I want to bring you into the conversation.
You're a young leader at NAMI.
You work with NAMI New York State.
You're part of NAMI Next Gen cohort,which is an amazing group of young people
who are helping to make sure that NAMIdoesn't just try to reach young people,
(09:27):
but that is inclusive of young peopleand that you're really represented
in the work that we dothroughout the organization.
So thank you for that.
But I would love to hearwhat was your path, what led you to
becoming a mental health advocateand being here with us today?
Thank you, Hannah.
And I also just want to saythank you to NAMI.
(09:48):
It's such a great organizationand is really just empowered me so much
as a young advocate to be where I am todayin the mental health space.
I never really plannedon going into mental health advocacy.
I did my undergraduate studiesin math and physics,
and I was actually in a militaryscholarship program for ROTC to work
on nuclear reactors for the United StatesNavy upon graduating from school.
(10:12):
So very,very different set of life circumstances
that brought me to where I am today.
But, you know, when I was going to school,it was during the start
of the pandemic withCOVID, so it was isolation.
And a little bit of an activationtrigger warning.
I was sexually assaultedduring my freshman year
(10:32):
of college on campus,and what really stood out to me
at the time wasn'tso much of what I was going through
with the assaultand the mental health challenges I had,
but the way that I was being treatedby my school, my institution,
with like the victim blamingand putting me on an involuntary medical
leave of absence, sending me as a queerperson back home to a toxic environment
(10:54):
that wasn't accepting.
And the contrast between thatand the support that I received from
my military advisors was shocking,because I received
significantly more supportfrom my military advisors,
for my mental healthchallenges, for the assault
and even being a queer person than I didfrom my institution of higher learning.
(11:15):
And that was just, again,something that was completely shocking
to me and really eye openingto the way that our systems are built
and our failing young people,particularly young queer people.
And it was kind of overcoming all of that.
That really started me on my advocacyjourney of turning my pain
into purpose through my lived experience,to try to change and challenge
(11:38):
these systems.
So that way, we can be betterat supporting young people
and meeting them where they are.
Thank you for talking with us,and thank you for your advocacy
to help other people, to make surethat the generation that follows us has
every resource, every ounce of supportthat they deserve and can lead a healthy
and fulfilling life.
(12:01):
Rodrigo, I'd love to hear a little bitabout your journey,
about how you came here and how you,you know, came to be working
and this mental health advocacy world.
Sure.
Well,I really came into this also by accident.
So in some ways,what Taylor, what you shared
kind of reminds me of thenot straightforward path.
(12:24):
But for me, it was also bornout of personal experience.
I'm a transgender man,so that means I was raised as a girl but
ultimately transitioned to live as a manI know myself to be.
And when I was growing up,I didn't really know anything
about what it meant to be trans.
(12:45):
I didn't know thatword. It wasn't on my radar.
And so I-- and I really struggled.
As a result.
I was depressed, I was feelinglike I couldn't connect with people
and I couldn't figure out why.
Because objectively, quite a lot of thingsin my life were going well,
(13:06):
so I didn't really know whyI was struggling.
But later, when I was in college,I had the opportunity to meet
other trans people and to learnabout transgender history and transgender
topics.
And all of a suddenit was like a light bulb went off.
I knew who I was, I knew what was goingon, and it was like a fog lifted.
(13:28):
I mean, really, that was transformationalin terms of my mental health.
Now, lookingback on those mental health struggles
I was having, especially as a teenager,it's almost like it happened
to somebody else, you know, because nowthere's such a contrast in a good way.
Now I'm feeling very much ableto have relationships,
(13:49):
I've been married for over a decade.
I'm thriving in my career,and this is all positive.
So and I share that to really--because it's what a lot of other trans
people experience as well.
Not universally everybody's differentbut it does paint this picture
that a lot of us have of or a lot of ustrans people experience where we were
(14:11):
struggling before, whether we couldput our finger on it or not.
Something was not clicking.
And then when we were able to liveas our authentic selves,
it's like it clicked into place.
And I want every trans personto be able to have that experience. I
don't wantanother person like me
to spend their teenage yearsfeeling isolated and alone and unsupported
(14:36):
when they don't have to.
This is a solvable problem.
This is absolutely preventable.
And, you know,I would just add that sometimes
people can kind of misconstruethis experience to think, well,
if you hadn't learned, if you hadn'tbeen exposed to transgender ideas,
(14:57):
then you wouldn't be transgender.
But the truth is,I was always transgender.
I just didn't have the words.
And having the wordsthat allowed me to get support
and acceptance and be able to thrive.
So the--it's not as simpleas just black or white.
You can't turn off being trans,and you can't deprive a child
(15:18):
of the knowledge that trans people existand think that that will change who
they are.
We are who we areno matter what language we have.
But if we have the languageand we have the support,
and we have adults in our liveswho can help us, then we can thrive.
So that'swhat can turn that experience around.
So that's how I came to this work.
And I'm really trying to make a pathso that other young people
(15:40):
who are struggling can see thatthey can have a bright, healthy future
no matter what it looks like today.
I love that,and I love that both of you have used
your own lived experience to really, trulyhelp others and hopefully
make their path easier.
And so I just feel so fortunateI get to have this conversation
(16:01):
with you today.
I wanted to talk a little bit aboutsome of the barriers that are out there.
We talked at the topabout how 44% of LGBTQ plus young people
who wanted mental health carecould not get it, 44% could not get it.
That's disturbing,but not altogether surprising.
(16:23):
And I'm hoping each ofyou can talk a little bit--
what are some of the barriersthat we are seeing that are
keeping peoplefrom getting the care that they need?
Rodrigo, I'll go to you first.
We'd love to hear your thoughts.
Sure.
Well, we did ask young people about thisin our research to again,
we don't want to make assumptions.
(16:45):
We want to really verify and verify anyinclinations we may have or any guesses.
We have to make sureit's rooted in the evidence.
And what we found isthat there is a whole variety of barriers,
but some of the top ones were number one,that they could not afford it.
That's not unique to LGBTQplus young people, right?
But it is still a widespread problem.
(17:08):
Number two, I was afraid to talk about mymental health concerns with someone else.
I was afraid I wouldn't be--and
then all the ones (17:15):
I was afraid I wouldn't be taken seriously.
I was scared someone would call the policeor involuntarily hospitalized me, or
I did not feel that they would understandmy sexual orientation or gender identity.
So there are these very concretelogistical barriers,
like cost and transportationthat are critical.
And then there's these emotionalbarriers around fear
(17:36):
of how you will be treated.
A lot of LGBTQ plus young peopleare nervous that they won't be understood.
Or they're afraid that they will facenegative consequences
for seeking mental health care.
One thing that's really important,I think, especially for adults
to keep in mind,is that when any of us, adult
(17:59):
or a young person,think about talking with therapists
or reaching outto any kind of official institution,
there can be disproportionate concernsfor LGBT people about outing,
about the paper trail, and especiallyfor LGBTQ plus people who are minors.
There's a lot of worry aboutif I reach out for help,
(18:22):
is that going to triggersome kind of notification
to my parents or caretakers or teachersthat could have ripple effects because not
everybody is out necessarily.
Some of theseyoung people might be questioning,
so they're not even readyto make any kind of declarative statement.
And there's a lot of worryabout being outed or being sort of exposed
(18:50):
when they're notready, when they're not ready for that.
So I think there's a lot of workwe have to do as a society to destigmatize
asking for help, period.
You know, for all of us in our society,but also to make a more safe and welcoming
environment for LGBTQ young peoplewho have some specific concerns.
Yeah.
And I'll just say on that last point,you know, obviously
(19:12):
it doesn't speakto the entirety of the care continuum.
But, you know, when somebody is in crisis,something that NAMI and The Trevor
Project have workedclosely on is restoring the Press 3 option
and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline,which was the specialized services
line for LGBTQplus youth and young adults.
So when they called 988, they could talkto somebody who understood them, who
(19:37):
maybe had a shared languageor shared background,
or who had the training to understandwhat they were coming from.
And unfortunately,that line was eliminated last July.
Because of the leadership of the TrevorProject and NAMI
was proud to be part of this work,you know,
we have heard recently a commitmentto bring back that line.
(20:00):
Secretary Kennedyhas confirmed in a hearing with the Senate
that that's in progressand was part of a recent contract
that 988 has to operate.
So I want to thank the Trevor Projectfor their leadership on that.
But I think that's just part and parcelof the larger ecosystem of making sure
(20:20):
that young people feel supportedand understood and safe
when they're reaching out for help.
Absolutely.
I mean, we can see herethat if a young person is struggling,
which, by the way,they might be struggling
because of somethingthat has to do with being LGBTQ or not.
But if they happen to be LGBTQand they are hurting
(20:43):
and they need somebody to talk to,we see from the data that it is critical
that they feel confidentthat when they pick up the phone and call,
the person who answers, is going to bethoughtful, is not going to interrogate
them, is not going to threaten themwith conversion
therapy, in a really bad scenario.
(21:07):
We have to explicitly signal to LGBTQplus young people
that a place is safe and welcoming,or they're not going to think
that it is, and there,and therefore they're less likely
to reach out for help when they need it.
So we that'swhy it's really essential that we have
specialized services like 988 Press 3.
(21:29):
And thank you, NAMI,for all of your support
in establishing 988 to begin with.
And now in trying to bring it back,we have to have these services
restored for these young peoplewho are hurting today, right now.
And the TrevorProject stands ready to work
with anyone with the powerto bet these services back online.
(21:51):
At the end of the day,the most important thing
is that these young peopleget the care that they need.
And we will work with anyoneit takes to get that done.
Absolutely.
We've got to work togetherto make it happen.
Taylor, as somebodywhose role with NAMI right now is to
make surethat the conversations are reflective of,
you know, the youth and young adultcommunity and who's working with young
(22:15):
adult leaders across the NAMI alliance.
I'm wondering if the themes thatThe Trevor Project found in their research
for barriers to accessing care kind of,you know, ring true to you.
What have you been hearingas you're talking to other young people?
What are the barriers that they're facing?
Yeah, absolutely.
(22:36):
I think first, you know, the fear aroundbeing outed is so real and valid.
And I think there's such a huge parallelbetween the fear of being outed
as a young queer person versus just beingouted as someone with mental illness,
like the fear and the stigma surroundingboth of those issues are separate
but so interrelated.
(22:57):
So when you're askingtrying to get care and support
with your mental health challenges,but that's deeply and related to,
you know, the gender dysphoriathat you're feeling or trying
to navigate your gender identityand your sexuality.
There's just that additional outedlayer to that.
And I've seen it a lot with both throughmy own lived experience as well as other
(23:20):
young people that I've worked with, havingjust that huge fear and societal stigma.
And I think the other piece tookind of going back
to about making surethat there are care providers
that are understanding and supportive,but also you can resonate with.
This is particularly prevalentacross like schools at like
(23:41):
both the K through 12 and the collegiatelevel with counseling centers
where the majority of councilors are, youknow, elderly, cis, straight white men.
And that does not resonatewith young queer people.
And it also makes it that much harderto be able to start that conversation,
because you're tryingto open up about something
that's deeply personal, and you don't knowif you can trust this person,
(24:02):
you don't have that connection.
You're not able to resonate with someone.
And that just leads to additional anxietyabout trying to open up
about these challenges.
And I think another thingjust in terms of direct access
to care is also genderaffirming care in addition to the removal
of the Press 3 option on 998,there's also been major cuts and pushbacks
(24:25):
to gender affirming care,or even just conversations
about what gender affirming care or genderaffirming language looks like.
I know some NAMI state organizationsand affiliates that have heard throughout
the Alliance have sharedthat even like NAMI Ending the Silence,
they're getting push backabout being able
to bring that into schoolsbecause of fears of you're
coming into classrooms and teaching kidshow to be trans.
(24:48):
And it's like,that's not what that's about at all.
And that's also notwhat gender affirming care is.
That's just about, again,meeting young people where they are
and supporting and accepting them.
We're not going in there trying to convertpeople into being a certain way.
It's about acceptance.
So I think trying to be very open publicunderstanding about what
(25:08):
these conversations actually look like.
And again,it's just at the end of the day,
meeting young people where they areand giving them
the support that they need.
Well, said Taylor, it's so importantthat we show support and in so many ways,
and there'sunfortunately a plethora of challenges
right now that are making youngpeople feel disregarded and not seen.
(25:33):
And, you know, kind of bringing it backto a statistic
that you mentioned earlier, Rodrigo,think you said that
young--a LGBTQplus young person who does not live in,
in accepting community has a suicide--three times the suicide rate
then LGBTQ plus young peoplewho do live in accepting communities.
(25:55):
I get that right.
Yeah. Yeah that's right.
And again, it really showsthat this is a solvable problem
because it-- as tragic as it isthat those in unsupportive
communities are struggling, it also meansthat on the other side of that coin,
those who are in supportive communitiesare much more likely to thrive.
(26:16):
So we can do something about this.
We can turn, we can turn the needle.
What does it look like to livein an accepting community?
What can communities, what can all of usbe doing to show young people
that they're accepted and cared forand supported for who they are?
What would be your suggestionsor good reminders for our listeners today?
Yeah, absolutely.
(26:37):
Well, we also asked young peoplethis in our survey.
So I've got,you know, I'm just full of data here
because our survey is hot off the presses.
I love it.
So what we askedthem, themselves,
what are some of the top actionsthat people in your life
can take to show support and acceptance?
What was scoredthe highest meaning the most,
(27:00):
the highest number of LGBTQ young peoplesaid, this is what I want to see from
the (27:03):
Trust that I know who I am.
Don't support politiciansadvancing anti-LGBTQ legislation.
So to Taylor's point,there's been fortunately, a tsunami
of especially anti-transgender lawsbeing passed in in state legislatures.
So that is top of mindfor these young people,
(27:25):
both those who are transgenderor non-binary and those who are not,
by the way,so non transgender, LGB, lesbian, gay
or bisexualyoung people still take note of this
and still see this as an indicatorof whether or not this adult in their
life is supportive of them.
So trust that I know who I am.
Don't support politiciansadvancing anti-LGBTQ plus legislation.
(27:49):
Stand up for me.
One thing that I draw from thatis that the act of an adult
standing up for you is important.
Even if it doesn't work, so to speak.
Meaning even--so,if some other adult is being disrespectful
towards the young personand you as an ally, stand up for them.
(28:12):
Maybe you don't successfully changethe mind of the person
who's committing that harassment.
But the fact that you tried still matters.
The young person still sees it,they notice it and that is encouraging.
So I think it's important for usto not kind of throw in the towel
(28:33):
and go, oh, well, that person is beingdisrespectful towards someone else.
They can't be convinced, so why bother?
The act of you bothering is important.
That is, that is still criticaland meaningful and we should all do it.
Also show supportfor how I express my gender.
That can mean things like clothing,you know, letting them dress
in the clothing that feels right for them,how they wear their hair, you know,
(28:56):
cutting their hair, styling their hair,adopting a new name,
things like that means different thingsto different people, but show support
for how I express my gender.
Look up things about LGBTQ plus identitieson your own to better understand.
So some self-education.
Ask questions about LGBTQplus identities to better understand,
(29:19):
have or display pride flagsand show support on social media.
And I'll remind us that our research showsthat when an LGBTQ plus
young person reports having evenone accepting adult in their life,
their odds of attempting suicidecan lower by 40%, 4-0.
(29:39):
So even if you are in an environment whereother people around
you might not be supportive,you even being that one teacher
or that one therapist,or that one care provider,
or that one social worker, or just friend,a parent of a friend, being
that one adult can be very meaningful.
(30:00):
40%. Just having oneperson can reduce--wow, I mean that.
So all the adults listening, be thatperson, be that person in your community,
whether you're a parent, aunt,uncle, a teacher, or coach, a therapist,
whatever your role is,if you're with some people,
be that person,you can make such a difference.
(30:22):
Taylor, what would you add?
What can people dowho are listening right now?
Yeah, I think the first thing, obviouslyI just want to start with,
like I agree so muchwith everything that Rodrigo shared.
And I think that that really tellsthat, again, this is coming from the data
that's informed by young queerpeople across the country.
Again, I'm just seeing so manysimilar things in my work.
(30:44):
I think one thing I'd addis a common misconception
I see when we talk aboutlike accepting spaces is people
confuse acceptance with understandingand think that they need to fully
understand someone else's lived experienceor everything about like
their gender identity and sexualityin order to accept them.
And that can't be further from the case.
(31:05):
Like, I do not understandhow to read music notes.
That doesn't mean I am like, oh, musicjust doesn't exist, and it doesn't mean
that I can't listen to someone elsewho's performing music
and respect that and appreciate the musicthat they're playing.
And like, this is the exact same way of,you don't need to fully understand
(31:25):
something like, yes, it's very--it's important to take that initiative
to self educate, because it also shouldn'tfall on someone who's trans
to have to continuously explaintheir gender identity to someone else.
That's just,you know, tiresome and everything.
That said,you don't have to fully understand,
nor would you be able to necessarilyfully understand
(31:47):
someone's lived experienceand unique gender identity and sexuality.
So I think starting with that,that distinction is really important
because I think for a lot of folks, too,that becomes a hurdle
if they're trying to work towardsacceptance where they feel overwhelmed,
they feel that there's too-- it'stoo confusing, there's too much,
(32:09):
you know, with everything,with all the different types
of sexualitiesand gender identities out there,
and they're not willing to take thatfirst step.
So I think noticing whatthat difference is,
and on a similar noteto something I get a lot is with the usage
of just respecting people's pronouns,which is such a basic thing,
(32:30):
but unfortunatelyjust become such a problematic issue.
And to that I say it's like it'snot that hard, it's
just a basic thing ofyou know, human decency and respect.
If we're able to respectother people's names and,
you know, there's thousands of thoseyou can learn a few pronouns too.
So I think that's another thingthat's just really important to, again,
(32:54):
just treating young queer peoplewith the respect, the autonomy,
the agency that they deserve.
And if I could just piggyback off that.
Taylor, I love what you saidabout the music notes.
Yeah, I think in our very politicizedenvironment, it can
seem almost intimidatingto learn about transgender people.
(33:18):
I think our political environmenthas unfortunately made this seem,
I don't know, it'smade it more polarizing,
which loses sight of the factthat these are just people, right?
It's like I'm just a persontrying to get up in the morning
and go to workand then get to the grocery store
on time afterwards like anybody else.
Like it's not about me being trans, butabout this idea of like,
(33:42):
just that acceptance versus understanding.
I just want to underscore that because,yeah, in this political environment
especially,it can seem as the learning about
trans issues is somehowso intense that it's like taking a college
level course or something.
But for most of the LGBTQyoung people around us,
(34:05):
what they're really looking foris to know that they are safe with you,
that you're not going to hurt them,you're not going to try to change--
you're not trying to trying to denythat they're LGBT or change who they are
and that you can beyou are open to hearing them out
and still treating them with respect,even if they happen to disclose
(34:28):
that they're LGBT. It's really just abouttreating each
other with decency and kindnessno matter what.
And the music notes thingreminded me that in our--in the Trevor
Project survey, we had an openended question of what is one thing
you wish you could sayto the other people in your life,
(34:51):
if you could, if you could sayonly one thing and one of the responses
was an analogy like thatwhere the young person shared,
I don't understand the laws of physics,but I still know gravity exists.
I don't try to deny the existenceof gravity just because I don't understand
all the mathematical equationsof how we discovered gravity.
(35:13):
I just know it's a thing, right?
I know it,I know it's a thing and I acknowledge it
no matter what,even if I don't understand it.
So it just, it's funny to hear thatexact same, that same kind of analogy.
I think it shows how important this is.
People are just lookingto be treated with respect.
You don't need to understandall the intricacies.
(35:33):
Let's just treat each otherlike human beings.
Yeah, yeah,I think that's the perfect note to end on.
Actually.
We need to treat each otheras human beings, and acceptance
doesn't mean understanding,but it's about respect.
So just one last question, something thatwe ask everyone who's on this podcast.
(35:54):
You know,the world is a very difficult place,
and it can be hard to hold on to hope.
I know sometimes I struggle with thatand have to recenter myself
and think about what gives me hope.
So in each episode, we have the last fewminutes dedicated to holding on to hope.
What helps each of you hold on to hope?
(36:15):
Taylor, I'll go to you first.
Yeah, I think for me,knowing that I'm not alone.
I know earlier onwhen I was really struggling
with my mental illness earlymy recovery journey,
I felt like I was the only personin the world that felt that way.
And it was through finding this communityI've built up, through
(36:39):
for my found family, through my workwith NAMI, that I've been able
to recognize that I am not alone,and also the power that I felt in
being able to share my lived experience,to use my voice to empower others.
So that way that they can feel that waytoo, has also just been so inspiring.
(37:00):
And I think it's also worthnoting that when communities
come together, reallyjust anything is possible.
Like Rodrigo shared at the beginning,you know,
there is so much hope and inspirationwith,
you know, empowering young queer peopleand the work that we're doing.
So I think just remembering thatand not giving up that hope.
(37:24):
Amazing. Thank you for that.
And we're gladthat you found the NAMI community too.
Rodrigo, what about you?
What helps you hold on to hope?
What helps mehold on to hope is seeing how significant
of a difference one person can make.
This is a tough political climatefor a lot of us, even LGBT
(37:51):
people specificity aside,we're seeing funding
for a lot of mental health servicesacross the board get cut,
whether they bevery deliberate budget cuts
or just be kindof the ripple effects
of other kind of contracting the economy.
So, you know, there's--it's understandable
(38:12):
to be worriedabout the state of mental health
in this country for LGBTQplus young people and otherwise.
But then it's so encouraging to see thateven despite all these systemic barriers
and these cultural problemsand these really big, scary things,
one person can put up one prideflag and give hope to
(38:34):
maybe three other kids in the neighborhoodwho they don't even know.
Like, all of us can have a really positiveripple effect and improve things
even when we don't realize it.
You never knowwho's watching you, you know, it's
sort of like that pay it forward idea.
You never know what kind of ripple effectcould be happening.
(38:56):
So I draw a lot of inspiration and comfortfrom the fact that no matter
what is going on politically,we can still make differences
in our everyday lives.
We can still protect our families.
We can still providefor the people around us.
We can still create a safe harborno matter where you are or who you are.
So it's that power of the individual,despite it all,
(39:19):
that gives me a lot of hope.
That's so, so inspiring.
And you know, I hope folksremember how much difference they
can make just by takingsmall steps that may seem small to them
but are so meaningful to others.
So thank you both for those remindersand being with you
(39:40):
and the work of the NAMI Allianceand our partners, like the Trevor
Project, gives me so muchhope that we can really change things.
And if you want to learn more aboutthe Trevor Project's research, you can go
to thetrevorproject.org/research.
I encourage you to.
Fantastic data.
Really, really readable and usableand understandable too
(40:01):
so encourage you to check that out.
This has been HopeStarts With Us a podcast by NAMI,
the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
If you're looking for mental healthresources, you are not alone.
To connect with the NAMI HelpLine and findlocal resources, visit nami.org/help.
Text "HelpLine" to 62640or dial 1-800-950-NAMI.
(40:26):
That's 1-800-950-6264.
If you're experiencingan immediate suicide, substance
use, or mental health crisis,please call or text 988
to speak with a trained supportspecialist or visit 988lifeline.org.
And of course, pleasereach out to our friends
at The Trevor Project who provideamazing crisis resources as well.
(40:48):
I'm Hannah Wesolowski,your guest host today.
Thanks for listening.
Thank you Taylor and Rodrigo and be well.
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