The Trevor Project and the Helmsley Charitable Trust announced on Tuesday the trust awarded Trevor $5 million to support a campaign in support of LGBTQ+ youth in the rural Midwest. It comes after the Trevor Project found young queer youth are more than four times more likely to attempt suicide in rural areas than their peers.

Across the country, every 45 seconds, it’s estimated that at least one LGBTQ+ youth attempts suicide, according to the group. The Trevor Project found that 55 percent of LGBTQ+ youth in Montana considered suicide, compared to 45 percent nationwide. In South Dakota, 19 percent of young people surveyed attempted suicide, compared to 14 percent across the country. The organization also found that access to mental health support is lacking among LGBTQ+ youth. In Nevada, 72 percent of LGBTQ+ youth surveyed wanted mental health care in the past year and were not able to get it, Trevor noted. 

“Right now, it is as critical as ever to take action to address the public health crisis of suicide among LGBTQ+ young people – especially in rural areas, where suicide risk often remains high while awareness and understanding of the issue may be limited,” Kevin Wong, senior vice president of marketing, communications, and content at The Trevor Project, said in an email to The Advocate. “The urgency is clear, as our most recent research shows that 39% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year — including 46% of transgender and nonbinary young people.”

The campaign will specifically target nine states within the trust’s Rural Healthcare Program: Hawai’i, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Funds will also go toward The Trevor Project’s public training team to support 50 training sessions for youth organizations across these states. According to the Trevor Project, this training will be held in areas where there is a higher rate of suicide among youth.

Real stories of LGBTQ+ youth will anchor the campaign, according to the organizations.

“We are immensely grateful to The Helmsley Charitable Trust for helping us maximize The Trevor Project’s reach across audiences in these nine states. It’s an invaluable opportunity for us to leverage a mass reach medium like digital and static billboards, combined with broadcast advertising’s opportunity to connect with linear TV audiences, alongside the unparalleled targeting capabilities of digital platforms such as display ads, programmatic ad buys, as well as paid search and paid social,” Wong said. “The Trevor Project’s messages of hope, affirmation, and support will be carried to youth and adult audiences across different identities and geographies.” 

For its part, The Helmsley Charitable Trust’s contribution follows its history of supporting rural health care programs.

“Helmsley is the largest private funder of rural health initiatives in the country. We seek to bring equality and access to care to all people living in rural America – and we care deeply about communities that have historically been overlooked and underresourced. Our work with The Trevor Project fits squarely into our priorities, as this PSA campaign will address the critical issue of mental health awareness and suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth in rural areas – a group of young people that is impacted by suicide risk at significantly higher rates than their peers of other demographics,” said Walter Panzirer in an email. “We are thrilled to partner with The Trevor Project because they have a long history of trust within the LGBTQ community. Trevor has always been a staunch advocate for enhancing mental health among the young people they serve, and they bring more than 26 years of demonstrated suicide prevention and crisis intervention success across the country.”

Panzirer noted that the trust has supported other LGBTQ+ groups before including The Golden Rainbow out of Las Vegas and is working with another at the moment — that partnership has not yet been announced.

“Protecting the lives of young people should not be viewed as political or controversial; it should be something that we all support,” Panzirer said in the official announcement.

The Trevor Project said the campaign will start next year.

“We are thrilled to partner with The Helmsley Charitable Trust on this critical endeavor to support the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people across the Midwest at a time when they may need it most,” Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project said in the announcement. “The Trevor Project’s research has consistently shown that LGBTQ+ young people are at higher risk for suicide compared to their peers, and we have a lot of work to do to connect them with the support they need. This work is especially crucial as we consider the unique barriers that exist for young people in many communities across our nine target states. Together, we look forward to decreasing stigma, educating youth-serving adults, and making it possible for LGBTQ+ young people to lead the happy, fulfilling lives they deserve.”

If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.