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Valentine’s Day and the Power of Affirmation

Many of us may think of the obligatory V-Day dinners with a romantic partner and exchanging candy at work and school, but we don’t often think about affirming love during the holiday. During the first week of February, The Trevor Project invited ten incredible LGBTQ+ young people on set in Pasadena to capture their stories for our 2024 Pride campaign. Members of the content team had the opportunity to film with, talk with, and laugh with these trailblazing young people hailing from Albany to Jacksonville, Milwaukee to Nashville, Philadelphia to San Diego. Directing the interviews for our social room, I…
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Against the Erasure of Black Queer History

American history of resistance is a history of Black LGBTQ+ people. Advancements in civil rights and greater visibility of the LGBTQ+ community overall can be attributed to the efforts of Black LGBTQ+ folks; so much of what is popular and beloved in music, fashion, culture, and even language is because of the innovations and traditions of the Black queer diaspora. All of this is born out of the need to survive oppressive and violent conditions, distinguish themselves from their white LGBTQ+ counterparts who often enjoyed greater privilege. When there are efforts to censor Black queer history in classrooms, to prevent…
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Andrew Mortensen, Biking Across the World for Trevor

Starting in 2020, Andrew Mortensen felt the gloom of COVID-19. Initially searching for a way to spend more time outdoors, he took the small step of biking between two national parks in the Pacific Northwest. Little did he know that his journey would eventually span 37 countries and over 27,000 miles, making him the first openly gay man to cycle around the globe, from North America to the tip of South America, from Spain to Singapore. Along the way, Andrew fundraised over $19,000 for The Trevor Project and wore an orange Trevor t-Shirt to spread the message of hope that…
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Join Our 45 Mile Outdoor Challenge

More than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ young people are estimated to seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S. — at least one attempts suicide every 45 seconds. This sobering statistic motivates us at The Trevor Project, and our entire community of support, to rally around LGBTQ+ young people and challenge ourselves to do better for them. We’ve had massive success together in our Facebook fundraising efforts — join us for another this March! We invite you (our community of allies and supporters) to join the 45 Mile Outdoor Challenge. We’ll be moving outdoors (ie. hiking, rolling, walking, etc.) in an…
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How The Trevor Project is Advocating for LGBTQ+ Young People During the 2024 Legislative Season

An interview with Janson Wu (he/him), Sr. Director, State Advocacy & Government Written by Ryan Bernsten (he/him), Senior Managing Editor RYAN: Let’s start really high-level. Why is the 2024 legislative season so important? JANSON: We've already seen close to 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced already in 2024. Last year we saw a record-breaking 600+ anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced, and 82 of those passed into law. This year, we're seeing our opponents double down on the breadth and cruelty of their attacks. Where we saw gender-affirming care bans targeting youth last year, we're now seeing restrictions for adult care. Where we once saw…
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How to Go Home for the Holidays

Despite having two parents who loved me, a home, food, and clothes, I had pediatric depression. Christmas — the holiday that my family celebrates — became a primary challenge in my elementary school years. For whatever reason, whether it was the compulsory joy or the forced extended time spent with family, I found it nearly impossible to be happy on December 25. This was met with confusion and eventually anger from my mom, whose favorite holiday is Christmas. If she noticed my moping, I was to smile immediately. “Smile, wear the red velvet dress and white tights. I don’t care…