End suicides by showing teens success stories

When a teenager in the midst of personal crisis hears adults say, "Don't worry, this will all pass, and things will get better," oftentimes the message falls on deaf ears. That's not to say that efforts like Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" campaign, or videos on bullying and suicide by the likes of Ellen DeGeneres and Sarah Silverman, or encouraging words of perseverance from local LGBT leaders are unimportant; only that they may not be enough.
But when youth see other youth doing great things, triumphing over obstacles and surviving – or, better yet, fighting – the bullying, the taunts, the name-calling? The compound effect of all-sided support can, and does, save lives.
In regard to the recent news that seemed to announce a new gay teen suicide every hour of last month: it is impossible to not cry, to not be in pain, to not stay awake at night wondering what you can do to help. It is painful just to list the names: Asher Brown. Tyler Clementi. Raymond Chase. Seth Walsh. Billy Lucas. Hung, shot, drowned, dead at their own hands, and each death linked – or at least believed to be linked – to personal and societal refusal to accept that they were gay.
And for those of us adults who endured bullying of any kind, it brings back painful memories of our own experiences. But at least for us, they are just memories.
Whether these suicides really were a freak September 2010 epidemic or simply more heavily reported in the news due to the closeness of their occurrences is hard to say. What we do know is that suicide due to anti-gay bullying is not a fate restricted only to those five young men. It happens all the time, whether it's in the news or not.
Bullying, as we all know, is not a quick-fix problem. It has been around for as long as society itself, and it doesn't go away just because a school has a policy saying it's prohibited. Bullying policies get ignored, or worse, students and faculty don't even know they exist.
And yes, students need to know that there is a future ahead of them that is worth living for. But in the middle of a bully's attack, what matters most is to know that taking their own life is not the only option they have.
One great way to plant that seed in LGBT teens' heads is to show them instances where their peers have not responded to bullying with suicide, but by fighting back in a number of ways.
For University of Michigan Student Assembly President Chris Armstrong, fighting his bully meant taking him to court. For Saline students, they've been so brave as to not only work to protect themselves from discrimination in school, but also to stand up to "bullies" on the School Board and in their community.
Teens need to know that they are not powerless, not insignificant and not without a voice. If they know who they can talk to, they will speak up. If they know how to fight back against bullying, they will wage war. And if they know there are options for success, then hopefully we can stop losing them.