10/13/10:: It Gets Better

I know I have blogged here before about the importance of anti-bullying messages-- a topic that has always been super important and personal to me. I don't know how involved any of my blog-readers are in keeping up with e-trends, but there has been a big one going on lately under the official title of "It gets better." In fact, it might even be unfair to simply call it an "e-trend" because I'm pretty sure it's more than that-- it's an initiative to save the lives of adolescents who are considering suicide as an option to escape the hardships of bullying.

The specific movement I'm referring to was started by Dan Savage, American author and journalist known for his loud-and-proud anti-conservative love advice via Savage Love. He and his partner Terry began by creating a YouTube channel directed at sending the message to young LGBT teens that after highschool, life can and will get better. Since this, many celebrities have jumped on the bandwagon in support including Jewel, Perez Hilton, Chris Colfer (Glee), Kathy Griffin, Daniel Radcliffe, etc. This group has also been linked to The Trevor Project, which is an outreach 24/7 hotline for crisis LGBT or questioning teens.

While I think all of this sudden awareness is huge, exciting, and a breath of fresh air, I think we could all be doing more to spread the message. Although these specific initiatives are directed at members of the LGBT community, I think the message should be delivered to ALL youth in peril due to bullying.

What can we do in our local communities to help?

MTV has started a similar initiative called Love is Louder, and you can read more about how to become involved here.

Find out how to become directly involved with The Trevor Project, or how to bring it to your local schools here.

Watch the ItGetsBetter YouTube channel, or link it to your own blog to spread the word by clicking here.