Stories of Impact: The Trevor Project (2026)

My name is Jackson Budinger.

My pronouns are she, her, and I am the Senior Director of Communications at The Trevor Project.

I oversee a small but very mighty team and I've been with the organization for about five years.

The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ plus young people.

We provide 24-7 crisis services to any LGBTQ young person experiencing a mental health crisis in both the U.S. and in Mexico.

In addition to our 24-7 crisis services, we operate several prevention programs to help reduce the number of LGBTQ young people entering a mental health crisis or a suicidal crisis in the first place.

So we have industry-leading research, advocacy efforts, public education, peer support to try to address the systemic issues that increase the risk of suicide among LGBTQ young

people to begin with.

The Trevor Project has been operational for the last 27 years.

And we always say, you know, in 1998, when our lifeline opened, the phone started ringing that night and it has not stopped ringing since.

And that's true.

That's not hyperbolic.

You know, every year we've seen an uptick in the number of young people who reach out to us as our awareness of our brand and our services have increased.

And still, we know that the demand for LGBTQ young people is extremely high.

The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ young people in the U.S. seriously consider suicide every year.

And so even when we've had our highest reach, it's only a dent in the demand of that.

One of my favorite protective factors that our research has found is that LGBTQ plus youth who report having at least one accepting adult were 40% less likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year.

And from a public health perspective, that is a really clinically significant outcome and should be very motivating that sometimes just a small gesture of acceptance can literally save someone's life.

You know, the stakes are very high here, but showing acceptance and acceptance affinity and support to someone in your life does not need to be a big, bold, grand gesture.

It really can just be a opening up a conversation, a warmth, something that shows a young person that you see them and that you're a safe space for them and that you're available for them to talk to and confide in if they need.

Ideally, that would be parents.

There are some wonderful accepting parents who have truly saved their kids' lives by being accepting and and leading with love.

And even if they don't understand, they are there for their kids.

But it doesn't have to be a parent.

It can be a teacher, a coach, a neighbor, a faith leader in the community.