YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) — It is a crisis that touches every town, city and state.
The Trevor Project estimates 1.8 million LGBTQ youth nationally consider suicide each year.
For Troy Stevenson, the senior campaign manager for advocacy and student affairs at the Trevor Project, the work is personal.
"I first started to come out and met my first boyfriend. And we were holding hands behind the school. The football team came out we got chased away. This was the late 90s. I ended up on the phone with him that evening and couldn’t console him," said Stevenson.
"The next day I found out he had completed suicide the night before."
It is a story that is all too common.
This week, the Trevor Project released its national and state by state survey.
It found 15% of LGBTQ youth in Michigan attempted suicide last year.
The survey found 60% of LGBTQ youth want mental health care but are not able to get it.
Ferndale therapist Josh Currie says it's not just about finances, but family.
"And if parents or trusted family members are not consenting for you to get help because they don’t believe it or want some kind of conversion therapy, you have a hard time having even one person in your corner," Currie revealed.
The Trevor Project found 80% of LGBTQ youth do not experience high levels of support from their families.
7 Action News asked Currie, "How much is it a matter of life and death that parents support their kids no matter what."
"I don’t know that many things are black and white, but in this case it is a matter of life and death," Currie said.
"Continue being a parent. What would you do if your child came to you and said they were heterosexual?" said Kristin Dews, a therapist at Ozone House.
Kristin Dews, is a therapist at Ozone House which serves homeless youth in Ypsilanti by providing a place to stay and support.
70% of the clients at Ozone House are minorities.
40% of the children served identify as LGBTQ+.
Dews says when you are in multiple groups experiencing rejection or bullying it can feel crushing.
"The intersectionality of being gay and a person of color makes it twice as difficult," Dews said.
The message from Ozone House is if you are struggling, whether you are LGBTQ or not, there is help out there. It has a 247 crisis line where you can find resources or just someone to listen.
"You are not alone. There is someone out there there is a line you can always call. There is someone who cares. No matter if you see them face to face, they are out there," said Darius Mason, Ozone House outreach coordinator.
"As a young person I think many, many queer people, most feel times of suicide ideality. But there is always that next step. You get out of that school house and on to the next step in your life," Stevenson said.
Troy Stevenson says the Trevor Project also has a help line.
He is calling on politicians, parents… all of us really to intentionally accept others as they are in our lives.
"Simple things like affirming places and family support can go a long way towards saving a young person's life," said Stevenson.
