By Caitlin M. Foyt
Helping others feels good. That's one reason why Adam Taylor has worked thousands of unpaid hours in suicide prevention within the LGBT community for over two years. But some national recognition for his efforts, which included a trip to New York City, red carpet gala, coffee with out actress Heather Matarazzo of "The Princess Diaries" and an interview with MTV all feel pretty good, too.
Taylor, the head and founder of Project Light, an organization dedicated to promoting mental health and reducing suicide among GLBT youth of southwest Michigan, spent June 11-14 in the Big Apple, receiving the Jed Foundation's 2009 Jerry Greenspan Student Voice of Mental Health Award.
"It's nice every now and then to be recognized publicly for the work you do," he said. "It definitely is an activist battery charge."
The annual award and $2,000 scholarship program recognizes students who are raising awareness of mental health problems and suicide, decreasing the stigma around these issues and encouraging help-seeking among their peers.
Earlier this year, the Western Michigan University junior submitted a video to the Jed Foundation, an organization whose focus is to reduce emotional distress and prevent suicide among college students. Titled "Lighting The Way," the winning short film details his commitment to suicide prevention in the GLBT community.
"When we got the information about the award, our server had crashed and we lost the e-mail," Taylor explained. "They called a few days later and said, 'Did you get our e-mail that said you got the national award?' I said, 'Can you hold for a second?' and just started screaming."
At the Red Carpet Gala on June 11, the event at which Taylor actually received his award, he felt like a celebrity socializing with "Hairspray" actress Brittany Snow and some of Manhattan's elite while he was photographed by a flashing media mob. "Never before had I ever been 'paparazzied,'" Taylor said. "It was just amazing and interesting to have 20 reporters within 15 feet of you snapping photos of you all night long."
As he was presented with his award, Taylor was given a few short minutes to inform a room full of strangers about the importance of the work done at Project Light back in Michigan and why advocacy was necessary.
Taylor was surprised to learn that his brief plug on behalf of his organization made a widespread impact, as he was soon approached by groups of people inquiring about upcoming events, donations and other ways to help the organization. "People seemed to be very interested in the cause and it's always exciting to have donors," he said. "It was like being a kid in a candy store with $20 in our pocket. It's like holy crap! Cavities now! The sweets are abundant. We definitely did some massive networking at the event."
He shook hands with writers from "60 Minutes," staff from NYC, Style Magazine, Wire and MTV, United Nations officials and staff, Broadway performers, Columbia University professors and a group of executives from Meijer stores.
Andrew Yager, 22, of Kalamazoo, produced Taylor's film and said his friend called him every day from New York.
He also said Taylor's award has opened a lot of doors and has expanded the potential for Project Light. "He can do so much in the community, but there's a limit," Yager said. "If you don't know anybody, then you know nobody. Now that he's known nationwide, this has helped him to push farther and I think he realizes he can do even more now."
Taylor is also the vice-chair of the Michigan Democratic Party's LGBT and Allies Caucus.
For more information about Project Light, visit http://www.projectlight.info or http://www.myspace.com/project_light.
