Support The Trevor Project

In the month of September, four young men have committed suicide to escape the relentless anti-gay bullying from other students.  Billy Lucas, a 15 year old high school Freshman from Greensburg, IN, took his own life in the family's barn on September 9th.  Friends say the abuse from other students was constant, and that he just wasn't able to fight back.

Asher Brown, a 13 year old Houston eighth grader, shot himself in the head the same day that he came out to his parents.  He was the target of bullies for the last 18 months.  They even went so far as to perform mock gay acts on him while in Phys Ed.  

Seth Walsh, a 13 year old from California, was the third gay youth to take his life this month.  He died yesterday afternoon, after being on life support for the last nine days.  He was found in the backyard of his home after hanging himself.  Like the others, he had been bullied for a considerable amount of time.  The school did nothing to protect him.  According to local station KGET:

“Tehachapi police investigators interviewed some of the young people who taunted Seth the day he hanged himself and determined despite the tragic outcome of their ridicule, their actions do not constitute a crime."

Tyler Clementi, an 18 year old Freshman from Rutgers University, is presumed to have jumped off the George Washington Bridge last week.  His car, cell phone and computer were all found next to the bridge but his body has yet to be recovered.  On September 19th, his roommate broadcast a live webcam video of him having sex with another male student.  His roommate even posted the following Tweet:

"Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

Two days later, he posted an IChat link of the video broadcast.

The Trevor Project is a California based organization that provides suicide prevention counselors for LGBT youths, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  It's possible that, had these young men knew about this outlet, they would still be alive today.

Last week, The Trevor Project, with the help of Dan Savage, has sponsored a series of Youtube videos called It Gets Better.  In it, gay and lesbian adults tell their personal stories and assure young LGBT people that things will get better if they just hang in there.  Here is one of the more touching and inspiring videos I've seen:

The Trevor Project runs solely on donations.  They are a charitable organization.  You can get more information about how to donate here.  Or, you can make a $5 donation right now using your cell phone.

TEXT "TREVOR" TO 85944, and $5 will go to The Trevor Project and be billed on your next cell phone bill.

***If you are thinking about hurting yourself or committing suicide, please get help.  Call The Trevor Lifeline at 866-488-7386.***