Glee Star: Talk to Me

Kevin McHale joins forces with The Trevor Project in time for suicide prevention week

He does a lot of singing (and talking) on the Fox hit TV show Glee, but off set actor Kevin McHale (he plays Artie) is helping The Trevor Project launch a new awareness campaign in time for National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 4-10). “Talk to Me” lets folks know about the Trevor hotline and shares important information about how to encourage people you know to get help if they’re considering suicide.

“We know through our work on the Trevor Lifeline that you can understand much more about what a person is going through just by talking. During National Suicide Prevention Week, The Trevor Project asks that you join the campaign for conversation, ‘Talk to Me,’ and get in the habit of healthy, and potentially life-saving conversation,” says David McFarland, interim executive director of The Trevor Project. “National Suicide Prevention Week is about knowing what to do if someone you care about is in crisis, even if that person is you. Leaders like Kevin McHale have taken the pledge to ‘Talk to Me,’ and we challenge all Americans to call someone and really talk this week, because you never know when your call can help save a life.”

The campaign is aligned with The Trevor Project’s core crisis intervention program, the Trevor Lifeline, a 24/7 phone counseling service for LGBT youth, ages 13 to 24. Since the Lifeline opened in 1998, hundreds of thousands of youth have called in need of help and a caring person to talk to. The leading challenges of individuals calling the Lifeline include: feeling isolated; depression; problems with family members; problems with bullying; questions about their sexual orientation or gender identity; considering suicide; considering cutting.

Here in Philly, the Ambassadors of The Trevor Project are also working with young people to let them know that it not only gets better, but there’s someone available to listen when things get bad.

Here’s what McHale has to say: