Arizona State University

The Trevor Project

Civic Engagement, Identity, and Group Mobilization

Allyson Yost

PAF112

Jonathan GS Koppell and Eileen Eisen-Cohen

December 5, 2020
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1. Introduction

In 2019, The Trevor Project’s research team found that over 1.8 million LGBTQ young people in

the United States consider suicide each year. The Trevor Project also states that suicide is the second

leading cause of death in young people and that LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt

suicide. (Paley and Munoz) So what is The Trevor Project? It began as the short film Trevor which was

created by producers Peggy Rajski and Randy Stone. They adapted the film after James Lecesne wrote

and performed their one-man show which brought Trevor to life. The film is about a high school-aged

boy named Trevor who realizes that he is gay and follows his journey of discovering himself and the

prejudices he faces from those around him. (Rajski et al.) Trevor went on to win numerous awards and

launched a national movement. After securing an airing on HBO, Peggy Rajski found there was no place

for young LGBTQ people to turn when they needed help. So with the help of James Lecesne, Rajski

recruited mental health experts, figured out how to build a 24-hour crisis hotline, and received the

funding needed to start the hotline. The Trevor Lifeline, the first national crisis intervention and suicide

prevention lifeline for LGBTQ youth, was launched in 1998 on the day the movie Trevor premiered on

HBO. (“History & Film – The Trevor Project”) Here is what their website says about the organization “The

Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention

services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.”

(“About The Trevor Project”) In this paper, we will discuss how The Trevor Project applies to our course

in regards to its identity, mobilization, and how it works within our American Democracy.

2. Identity

In our class reading, identity is defined as “a shared characteristic that can cause people to form

a group, such as race, gender, class, religion and sexuality. Shared beliefs (i.e., being anti-drinking) or

shared experiences (i.e., employment-based, such as a specific employer or around a specific career

path) can also lead to a sense of identity”. (Eisen-Cohen, “Flashcards: Identity”) People that identify
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with The Trevor Project are members of the LGBTQ+ community, especially those under the age of 25.

Within that identity is LGBTQ+ persons that are struggling to feel accepted within their community,

those struggling with their mental health, and especially those that are considering, contemplating, or

have attempted suicide. Other members that makeup identity in this group are family and friends of

LGBTQ+ youth, and older LGBTQ+ that experienced the same struggles. In our readings, we learned

about social capital, which is “connections or relationships with others and the willingness to interact

with and aid others”. (Eisen-Cohen, “Flashcards: Social Capital”) The Trevor Project engages in both

political and social engagement, which we will get into later in this paper. The Trevor Project is

partnered with multiple organizations: Ben Cohen Foundation, City Year, Friend of Project 10, GLSEN,

The Jed Foundation, Kimpton, Kognito Interactive, The Matthew Shepard Foundation, The Mental Health

Coalition, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Out To Innovate, PFLAG, ReachOut.com, and Teach for

America. The social capital of these organizations is to educate school-age kids, support school-age

LGBTQ+, hold fundraisers and events to bring awareness to the struggles of LGBTQ+ youth, and create

safe environments for LGBTQ+ persons. (“Partner Organizations'')

3. Mobilization

The use of mobilization greatly helps organizations, such as The Trevor Project, to be civically

engaged. From our readings, in class, we learned that mobilization is “ when people are inspired to take

action collectively on a particular problem”. (Eisen-Cohen, “Flashcards: Mobilization”) As of 2019, The

Trevor Project has 128 employees, and 306 volunteers. (United States) These employees and volunteers

share the same cause, which is to support and advocate for LGBTQ+ youth. This organization mobilized

by releasing the film Trevor on HBO and the same day launched their Trevor Hotline.

As mentioned earlier in this paper The Trevor project engages both socially and politically. On

their main website, The Trevor Project states they attempt to engage through legislation, litigation, and

public education. By engaging this way, they hope that light will be shed on the discrimination and
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stigma that these youths struggle with. Advocating for policies for LGBTQ+ youth in the military and

their families, increasing their access to mental health care, and improving their overall health, are a few

of the ways The Trevor Project is civically engaged. Another way they engage is through their campaign,

50 Bills 50 States, which aims to protect LGBTQ+ youth from conversion therapy. The Trevor Project

creates educational environments and helps push teachers to support LGBTQ+ youth. They also support

data collection to effect policy change and defend programs whose goal is to support homeless youth,

many of which are made up of the LGBTQ+ community. (“Trevor Advocacy”) During the Obama

administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services appointed The Trevor Project to a

leadership role in the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. (“Champions of Change”)

4. Democracy

In our readings democracy is defined as follows, a political system in which people

govern themselves. (Krutz and Waskiewicz) Furthermore, our readings explain that the United States

adopted a representative democracy which is “a form of government where voters elect representatives

to make decisions and pass laws on behalf of all the people instead of allowing people to vote directly

on laws”. (Eisen-Cohen, “Flashcards: Representative Democracy”) American Democracy is strengthened

by a service movement because it encourages individuals to engage in service so that they and the

entire country may experience the benefits of said service. One of the services discussed in our reading

is volunteering. (Eisen-Cohen, “Flashcards”) Volunteers are what help The Trevor Project fulfill their

goals and carry out their cause. Their volunteers and employees then bring awareness to our elected

representatives, and in this case, it is their concern about suicide prevention in LGBTQ+ youth. By

bringing awareness through legislation and education, The Trevor Project can then influence our

representatives to vote in favor of helping out LGBTQ+ youth.

The Trevor Project’s mobilization is similar to others discussed in class, in that they saw a

growing problem for a certain demographic or group of disadvantaged people, and decided to help
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them. Organizations such as: The JFCS formed to serve Jewish members of the community, the #MeToo

Movement formed to support low-income women of color that were victims of sexual violence, and The

BLM Movement was started to support people of color and their communities facing violence and

discrimination. (Burke; “Jewish Family”; “The Black Lives Matter”)

5. Conclusion

The goal of this paper was to explain how The Trevor Project applies to our course in regards to

its identity, mobilization, and how it works within our American Democracy. Firstly, The Trevor Project’s

identity consists of LGBTQ+ youth aged 13-24, and their families and friends, whose main purpose is to

support and educate on the high suicide rates of LGBTQ+ youth and their struggles among peers.

Furthermore, this organization mobilizes by bringing awareness from the movie Trevor, launching the

Trevor Helpline, advocating for education in schools, and supporting and putting forth legislation to help

LGBTQ+ youth. Lastly, The Trevor Project works within our democracy by utilizing their employees and

volunteers to lobby for LGBTQ+ youth’s mental and physical health. The Trevor Project shares many of

the same qualities as the other organizations that we discussed in class. If you would like any more

information on The Trevor project and how you can get involved in their cause, visit their website

TheTrevorProject.org.
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