Last week was National Suicide Prevention Week in the U.S. Between September 4-10, a group known as the Trevor Project founded this week to prevent suicides - mostly, but not only, by teens - because according to the CDC there are approximately 91 suicides per day in the United States. Suicide is the third cause of death of 15-24 year olds and a quarter of American gay teens have made a suicide attempt.
With the phrase “talk to me,” the Trevor Project is wanting to “start the conversation.” According to them, “when you talk to someone you get a sense of how they’re really feeling. You’ll show that you care enough to listen. And, when a person has someone to talk to, they feel supported and are more likely to ask for help when they need it.”
Both the Trevor Project as well as It Gets Better have been using role models such as Glee actor Kevin McHale and President Barack Obama to get the word out (as Obama said in an It Get’s Better video) that “as a nation we’re founded on the belief that all of us are equal and each of us deserves the freedom to pursue our own version of happiness; to make the most of our talents; to speak our minds; to not fit in; most of all, to be true to ourselves.  That’s the freedom that enriches all of us.  That’s what America is all about.  And every day, it gets better.”
The suicide hot line known as the Trevor Life-line (1-866-4-U-Trevor) and the videos sponsored by Youtube and It Gets Better,  are a start to raise awareness of suicide rates in the United States.