Amazing Race’s Tyler Oakley helps launch The Trevor Project’s new 24/7 text and chat lines
Amazing Race star appears in PSA highlighting expanded hours for The Trevor Project's suicide prevention hotlines
The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people, has launched “Anytime, Anywhere,” a public service announcement featuring LGBTQ advocate and Amazing Race contestant Tyler Oakley touting its suicide prevention services.
In the PSA, Oakley shares how he felt hopeless and alone during his youth, and tells LGBTQ young people that The Trevor Project’s text and chat counseling services, TrevorText and TrevorChat, are now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the first time in the organization’s 21-year history.
“There were times and places in my life growing up when I longed to talk to somebody about my feelings and my identity,” Oakley says in the PSA. “Moments at school, or at church, or even at the dinner table surrounded by my family, I was lonely, and I didn’t know how to start to open up.”
The Trevor Project is partnering with AT&T Turn Up the Love, the phone company’s campaign to support and engage LGBTQ people and allies, as it launches the 24/7 text and chat lines, which are powered by AT&T. The organization’s 24/7 phone hotline will continue to operate during those same hours.
“The Trevor Project wants every young LGBTQ person to know that they are never alone and can always reach out to us for help,” Amit Paley, the CEO and executive director of The Trevor Project, said in a statement. “Now that our text and chat services are available around the clock, thanks to financial support, products, services, and employee volunteers provided by AT&T, we can provide life-saving support to even more of the 1.5 million LGBTQ young people we estimate to need our services every year. With the help of Tyler Oakley and AT&T, we’re able to reach LGBTQ youth nationwide so they know how to connect with trained crisis counselors at any time, who can tell them that they are loved, valued, and never alone.”
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people, and recent behavioral surveys and studies show that LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their cisgender peers.
The Trevor Project has reason to believe that the expanded text and chat offerings will be used extensively by youth in crisis, and that Oakley, whose social media accounts boast more than 23 million fans and whose YouTube page attracts more than 7.5 million subscribers, will assist them in spreading the word about the services.
According to a third-party evaluation of the organization’s suicide prevention services, 63% of youth said they preferred using the text or chat services because they felt it was easier to be themselves. Nearly two-thirds of youth who ever used text or chat services said they preferred doing so because they felt it was more confidential than using a traditional phone line. Among trans-identifying youth, 45% said they preferred using text or chat lines because of a reduced likelihood of being misgendered.
“Moments of crisis are different for everyone, and I hope that by sharing mine, LGBTQ youth know there’s no reason too big or small to reach out to The Trevor Project,” Oakley said in a statement. “Asking for support isn’t always easy — it’s important to meet LGBTQ young people where they are, with counselors who are trained to meet their unique needs, and on platforms they’re comfortable using.”
See Oakley’s PSA, “Anytime, Anywhere,” below:
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