The need for suicide prevention for LGBTQ Mexican youth was clear to The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth organization based in Los Angeles. Mexico shares not only a border with the United States but also the sobering statistic that suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people in the country, according to the 2021 report "Observatorio Nacional del Suicidio en México - SAK Fundación."
According to UC Davis Health, in the U.S. suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10-24.
The Trevor Project, one of the country's leading youth suicide prevention services for nearly 25 years, launched its first-ever international program in Mexico, on National Coming Out Day, October 11, the agency announced in a news release the same day.
The agency now distinguishes itself and its Mexico services as Trevor U.S. and Trevor Mexico. Trevor Mexico operates virtually, according to a Trevor U.S. spokesperson.
Like in the U.S., Trevor Mexico offers LGBTQ Mexican youth free, confidential, 24/7 digital crisis services through TrevorChat and TrevorText, including SMS text messaging, WhatsApp, and online chat.
Trevor U.S. approximates — based on the little available data and research that the organization was able to find — that more than 745,000 LGBTQ youth, ages 13-24, are in crisis in Mexico alone, according to a March 9 news release announcing plans to open Trevor Mexico. The percentage of Mexico's LGBTQ population that has thought about or attempted suicide in their lifetime is 28.7%, according to the 2021 National Survey on Sexual and Gender Diversity (ENDISEG).
Trevor Mexico's launch was formally unveiled October 15 in Mexico City with a special event, House of Trevor, featuring Latinx American nonbinary ballroom celebrity Valentina. Nearly 400 people were in attendance, according to Jessica "Jess" Leslie, head of international digital crisis services at Trevor U.S.
Leslie explained that ballroom culture is popular in Mexico and one of the safe spaces for LGBTQ Mexicans.
The celebration was momentary. The reality on the ground struck within Trevor Mexico's first 24 hours of launching, as Mexican LGBTQ young people immediately reached out for help, agency officials said. The organization couldn't provide exact numbers for how many queer and questioning Mexican youth reached out to the service due to privacy and security reasons, officials said.
"These are services that are very much needed and that young people, especially LGBTQ+ young people in Mexico, are really asking for," said Leslie, who hopes to "reach as many LGBTQ+ youths as possible and that we're able to provide life-saving support where it's needed."
Edurne Balmori, the out executive director of Trevor Mexico, expressed in the October 11 release that for many "LGBTQ youth in the country, expressing themselves and simply being who they are can put their physical safety and mental wellness at risk."
She pledged that Trevor Mexico "will strive to end the stigma around the issue of mental health, provide LGBTQ youth with a safe and trusted space, and ultimately save lives."
A Los Angeles Blade article about the new program noted that Trevor Mexico's staff is made up entirely of LGBTQ+ Mexicans.
Leslie praised Balmori. Since she came on board in the spring, Balmori used her corporate experience and community activism to work with the Trevor U.S. team and Mexican experts on the ground to adapt the successful U.S. crisis model and its volunteer-based model to the Mexican context, Leslie said. Like in the U.S., counselors will undergo extensive training and implement an evidence-based crisis support model, according to the October 11 release. Balmori built a team of 55 staff and many volunteers to launch Trevor Mexico.
"She has very personal ties to this work," Leslie said, adding that Balmori is "well-informed about the issues facing youth, and also just has a really great approach to work. She's someone who is very thoughtful and really does bring a trauma-informed perspective to her work."
Leslie added that Mexico "being the first country we're going into, I think we really want to make sure that it is used, and it is seen as something that is useful for those in [the] country," she said.
She expressed the importance of staff learning and being adaptable as the program evolves under the Trevor Mexico team's direction and leadership. The decision to start a program in Mexico came after Trevor U.S. conducted a robust process examining countries across the globe, Leslie said.
Upon opening, Trevor Mexico also received contacts from other Latin American countries, she said. According to Trevor U.S. research, more than 40 million LGBTQ youth around the world "seriously consider suicide each year."
"People throughout the world have asked for support with services like this," said Leslie, pointing to the organization's research to launch its first international services.
"It's something that I wish that all young people had access to," Leslie continued. "The fact that we're expanding to another country, especially a Latin American country, is something that I know I'm very proud of. I'm really happy that the young people will get access to the service."
Trevor Mexico is supported by several of Trevor U.S.'s existing corporate and technology partners, such as Google.org, the tech giant's philanthropic arm. It became a lead funder of Trevor's international work, renewing its $2 million grant to scale the agency's life-saving work to new international geographies, according to the October 11 release.
For U.S. Crisis Services: If you or someone you know needs help or support, the Trevor Project's trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678.
For Mexico Crisis Services: If you or someone you know needs help or support, Trevor Mexico's trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 via chat at TheTrevorProject.MX/Ayuda, via SMS by texting "Comenzar" to 67676, or via WhatsApp by texting 55 9225 3337.
Got international LGBTQ news tips? Call or send them to Heather Cassell at WhatsApp/Signal: 415-517-7239, or [email protected]
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