If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 which is available 24/7.
At Metro United Way, we believe that all people belong and deserve fairness, justice, and inclusivity. Our strength as a community comes from diversity, and we celebrate the visible and invisible qualities that make each person unique, including race, gender, age, sexuality, ability, religion, national origin, gender identity, and all intersectional identities.
We see the pain our children experience when they don’t feel like they belong. Last year, 49% of LGBTQ youth in Kentucky and 45% in Indiana seriously considered suicide, including 59% of transgender and nonbinary youth in Kentucky and 54% in Indiana.
We grieve for the hopes, dreams, and futures silenced by marginalization, isolation, and discrimination.
But we hear the support our kids are calling for now—increased access to mental health services, to trusted adults, to affirming spaces, to physical and psychological safety.
And we stand with them.
Learn more information from our friends at Kentucky Youth Advocates HERE and find more Indiana LGBTQ youth data and supports HERE.
Resources:
- Protecting the Mental Health and Well-being of LGBTQ+ Youth – Kentucky Youth Advocates
- 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health – Indiana – The Trevor Project
- Louisville Youth Group: Louisville Youth Group (LYG) is the primary LGBTQIA+ nonprofit community serving QTBIPoC/LGBTQIA+ youth in Kentuckiana. LYG provides a brave space for gender and sexuality diverse young adults to grow their identities, learn leadership skills and develop the tools needed to both thrive personally and to act as agents of change in their communities. View Louisville Youth Group list of resources.
- Indiana Youth Group: Indiana Youth Group (IYG) creates safer spaces to foster community and provides programming that empowers LGBTQ+ youth and magnifies their voices. View Indiana Youth Group list of resources.