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This is an iHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human.
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Downey is a proud sponsor of the Elton John Impact Awards and a longtime supporter of organizations that work to bring the LGBTQ community together, including Centrelink, glaad, the National Black Justice Collective, Outright International, Sage, and the Trevor Project. From the world famous performing artists using their platforms to advocate for change, to the volunteers helping others, Downey salutes everyone working to make the world a better, more inclusive place.
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My name is Jackson Buttinger. My pronouns are she, her, and. I am the senior Director of Communications at the Trevor Project. I oversee a small but very mighty team, and I've been with the organization for about five years. The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ young people. We provide 24. 7 crisis services to any LGBTQ young person experiencing a mental health crisis in both the U.S. and in Mexico. In addition to our 24. 7 crisis services, we operate several prevention programs to help reduce the number of LGBTQ young people entering a mental health crisis or a suicidal crisis in the first place. So we have know, industry leading, research, advocacy efforts, public education, peer support to try to address the systemic issues that increase the risk of suicide among LGBTQ young people. To begin with, the Trevor Project has been operational for the last 27 years. And we always say, you know, in 1998, when our lifeline opened, the phone started ringing that night, and it has not stopped ringing since. And that's true. That's not hyperbolic. You know, every year we've seen an uptick in the number of young people who to us as our awareness of our brand and our services have increased. And still we know that the demand for LGBTQ young people is extremely high. The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ young people in the US seriously consider suicide every year. And so even when we've had our highest reach, we're only. You know, it's only a dent in the. In the demand of that. One of my favorite protective factors that our research has found is that LGBTQ youth who report having at least one accepting adult were 40% less likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year. And from a public health perspective, that is a really clinically significant outcome and should be very motivating that sometimes just a small gesture of acceptance can literally save someone's life. You know, the stakes are very high here. But showing acceptance and affinity and support to someone in your life does not need to be a big, bold, grand gesture. It really can just be a opening up a conversation, a. A warmth, something that shows a young person that you see them and that you are a safe space for them and that you're available for them to talk to and confide in if they need. Ideally, that would be parents. There's some wonderful accepting parents who have truly saved their kids lives by being accepting and leading with love. And even if they don't, they are there for their kids. But it doesn't have to be a parent. It can be a teacher, a coach, a neighbor, a faith leader in the community. Really, any adult in the community can literally save a life. I am an ally. I'm not part of the LGBTQ community. And when I started at the Trevor Project, I felt a lot of insecurity about that. I thought, would I find a place here? Will I not be accepted because I'm not part of the community? And through my time here, I've just learned, you know, this community at the Trevor Project is just the most warm, welcoming community that I've ever worked with. And we have so many universal experiences, even though our identities are different. I wish that more people, especially people who have some skepticism about the LGBTQ community, I wish that more people could just sit in my shoes for five minutes and I really think it could have a life altering impact on just bridging the gap and bringing them closer together.
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Congratulations to all the 2026 Elton John impact Award honorees from Downey. Downey is proud to support those who inspire long lasting change with resilience and heart. Because together we create a more inclusive world. Here's to a fresh tomorrow from Downey.
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This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.