In recognition of the 45th Anniversary of LA Pride in West Hollywood, Mayor Lindsey Horvath and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti introduced a new initiative to support and care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. The two mayors are calling for other mayors in cities across Los Angeles County to join the LGBTQ Youth Pride Action Plan unveiled at an L.A. Pride kick-off reception at The Standard in West Hollywood.

Young LGBTQ people are often at risk for greater rates of self-harm than straight people in their age range. LGBTQ youth encounter more public safety issues and more health-related problems, too. They also face barriers in accessing housing and education.

“I am proud to join Mayor Horvath to empower our region’s LGBT youth by pooling the resources they need to succeed — as the next generation of leaders and as L.A. County’s emerging workforce,” Garcetti said. “Their individual success is a communal responsibility.”

The LGBTQ Youth Pride Action Plan highlights five issues our cities will prioritize in working with LGBTQ youth: Healthcare; mentoring and legal services; housing and work opportunities; safe schools and public facilities; and crisis intervention, suicide prevention and social support services.

In an invitation letter to mayors across the region to sign, Horvath and Garcetti identified organizations that currently provide support to LGBTQ youth. They include: Saban Community Clinic, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Lambda Legal, the Los Angeles Unified School District, The Trevor Project, Project SPIN (Suicide Prevention Intervention Now), and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, among others. Additional organizations are expected to join the plan as additional cities become involved.

The LGBTQ Youth Pride Action Plan was developed with The Trevor Project, an organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ people ages 13-24. For more information, visit www.trevorproject.org and at www.lalgbtcenter.org.

If an LGBTQ youth or anyone you know is in imminent danger of suicide or cannot stay safe in the immediate future, call 911 or seek emergency help at a local hospital. A toll-free 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available at (800)273-8255 and Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services offers a 24-hour Suicide Prevention Crisis Line at (877)727-4747. The Trevor Project offers a toll-free 24-hour Lifeline dedicated to suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth at (866)488-7386. Teen Line offers a peer-counseling phone line to LGBTQ youth from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily at (800)852-8336.

For more information about the LGBTQ Youth Pride Action Plan, contact Kiran Hashmi, deputy to Mayor Horvath, at (323)848-6460. For additional information about West Hollywood’s Social Services Division, call (323)848-6510. For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323)848-6496.