How the Trevor Project and PHM are reaching LGBTQ youth with social video
The team recognized that LGBTQ youth, already at a disproportionate risk for mental health and suicide, were facing exacerbated challenges during COVID-19. Here’s how they are fighting back.
COVID-19 and the reduced social mobility the pandemic created has been a hardship for so many. For young people who identify as LGBTQ, those increased burdens can be devastating for a population that often relies on support systems outside the home.
The Trevor Project, an advocacy group for the LGBTQ community, explains the risks that COVID-19 has created for young people and mental health:
Although youth and young adults are estimated to have the lowest mortality rates from COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020), they are not immune to its consequences, including as it relates to mental health and well-being. Even prior to the pandemic, LGBTQ youth have been found to be at significant increased risk for depression, anxiety, substance use, and suicidality (Russell & Fish, 2016). These risks are even more pronounced among youth who are transgender and/or nonbinary (Price-Feeney, Green, Dorison, 2020). Thus, LGBTQ youth may be particularly vulnerable to negative mental health impacts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
For one media group, the crisis demanded action.
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