The Trevor Project Releases Documentary Short 'Learn with Love', Uplifting Transgender Youth Stories
The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention organisation for LGBTQ young people, has released 'Learn with Love', a documentary short film elevating the stories of three transgender young people and their relationships with the people who love them. The documentary is part of The Trevor Project's enduring advocacy initiative to cultivate public awareness and acceptance of transgender and nonbinary experiences, bolster messages of support and love for young people who hold these identities, and ultimately work toward ending suicide among LGBTQ young people.
The documentary short film features the compelling stories of three transgender young people and adults in their lives: Kaiden (he/him pronouns) and his mum; Skyler (she/her pronouns) and her grandfather; and Lyndon (he/him pronouns) and a pastor who took him in after his family turned their backs. Through each story, viewers get to observe a different side of the transgender experience – one that illustrates the tenacity and resilience of transgender young people and explores what's possible when people who love them are able to learn and evolve. Rather than dwell on the persistent barriers that so many transgender young people face, this documentary explores the breakthroughs – underscoring the importance of openness, education, and love as a basic human need.
"Seven in 10 Americans have never met a transgender person, and it can be hard for them to distinguish between stereotypes that saturate today's national discourse and what it really means to be transgender," said Kasey Suffredini (he/him pronouns), vice president of advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project. "This year, more than 150 anti-LGBTQ bills have been considered in the first two weeks of 2023 alone. This harsh, stigmatising political climate only raises the stakes to protect transgender youth, who are already marginalised. When Americans learn their stories, they are moved to support them. In a time of increasing polarisation, 'Learn with Love' captures three beautiful stories and shows the power of one-on-one connection to overcome misinformation and change hearts and minds."
The Trevor Project's innovative research continues to shine a light on the disproportionate negative mental health impacts on transgender and nonbinary young people due to the mistreatment, discrimination, and stigma they face in society. According to The Trevor Project's 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth considered suicide in the past year and nearly one in five attempted suicide. Tragically, fewer than one in three trans and nonbinary youth found their home to be gender-affirming.
"Our goal is to develop content that amplifies the human experience and ultimately helps foster deeper understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ young people among the general public," said Megan Stowe (she/her pronouns), vice president of brand & content at The Trevor Project and director of 'Learn with Love'. "This film is just the beginning of a larger content series we have planned, and we hope that this new way of storytelling will be a powerful force in shifting public perception and drawing more allies and advocates to our critical work."
'Learn with Love' is a collaboration between The Trevor Project's in-house content team and IMPOSTER, a boutique production company with offices in NYC and LA. The release of 'Learn with Love' signals the beginning of a new content strategy for The Trevor Project, designed to reach the general public at the national level with authentic, educational, impactful, youth-driven storytelling. The Trevor Project's newfound content team will oversee this strategy.
The Trevor Project thanks its many individual donors and corporate supporters who have contributed to this effort specifically to support transgender and nonbinary young people, which will help create additional educational content and mobilise public support to protect the rights of transgender youth. Supporters include, Anne Wojcicki Foundation, and Wells Fargo Foundation at $250K+; Alexander Hill, and UGG at $100K-$250K; and Dorian Kendal and Jared Hunt-Kendal, Kym Foglia-Wagner, Macy's, The Moxley Family Foundation, Murray/Reese Foundation, Paycom, Richison Family Foundation, Ricky Strauss, and Teva at $25K-$100K.
If you or someone you know is feeling hopeless or suicidal, our trained crisis counsellors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting 678678.
