This pride season, show your support! New LGBTQ video by TEEN LINE

From its inception in 1980, TEEN LINE has been at the forefront of reaching out to teens from every ethnicity, background, socioeconomic level, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The founder, Dr. Elaine Leader, has been responsible for that inclusion. “Since the early 90’s, we have had an LGBTQ outreach with LGBTQ teen speakers helping educate their peers in order to prevent homophobia, transphobia, harassment, and prejudice. We have worked closely with other organizations such as the Trevor Project, the LA LGBT Center, and the Models of Pride conference to ensure acceptance and inclusivity,” Dr. Leader said.

TEEN LINE was even involved in the Task Force to End Homophobia and LAUSD anti-bias trainings. “It has been and continues to be a very important component of our community outreach and education. We are particularly interested in LGBTQ teen suicide prevention, as we recognize that LGBTQ youth have a suicide rate 3 or 4 times that of their straight peers,” added Dr. Leader.

LGBTQ: Understanding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities features the personal stories of several youth from Los Angeles with diverse backgrounds. The latest educational video from TEEN LINE is broken up into segments about the coming out process, support, and explaining gender identity versus sexual orientation.

Professionals speak to the importance of support, safety, and celebrating individuality. Chris Angel Murphy, MSW (who co-produced the video and is involved in LGBTQ Outreach) wanted to make a video that was positive and inspirational. “Too often videos highlight the negative statistics that make the news and not stories of people doing well or thriving. With role models such as Caitlyn Jenner, Janet Mock, and Laverne Cox, people are ready to start hearing more LGBTQ stories. However, we are also aware that not all families are there yet, and that’s why we want teens to know about TEEN LINE as a resource,” Chris offered.

This is the third educational video produced by TEEN LINE, following suicide and bullying prevention. They are screened during specialized outreach programs to help promote awareness and empower teens to know what to do in challenging situations.

This LGBTQ pride month, please help us let teens know there’s hope and there’s help!

Here’s what some folks are saying on Twitter:

This beautiful video about the LGBTQ community should be national required viewing. Thanks to @TEENLINEONLINE http://t.co/YEPqaEipsV

— The Dark Place (@darkplacepod) May 21, 2015

Is it a boy or a girl? Enlightening educational video! New TEEN LINE Educational Video: LGBTQ https://t.co/HszJ39VGvR via @TEENLINEONLINE — Dr.SherylRoss (@DrSherylRoss) May 26, 2015

I can’t tell you how important & life saving this is! RT @TEENLINEONLINE #LGBTQ video! http://t.co/2J35xB36qn pic.twitter.com/zhLEtfdp29

— Ian Harvie (@ianharvie) May 21, 2015

Even funny man and actor from Amazon’s Transparent weighed-in.

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Are you a middle or high school teacher in Los Angeles? Nearby agency or group? Request our LGBTQ outreach! Our video is also available for purchase in our store. Find out about our outreach and how to request us here.

TEEN LINE is a teen-to-teen helpline open 6PM-10pm PT nightly. TEEN LINE Listeners are trained to handle suicide, depression, LGBTQ, sex, and much more. No problem is too big or small… we’re here to help! Teens needing more support, please reach out here: Get Help Now

This video was made possible with generous support from The Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation.