lululemon Backs The Trevor Project and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to Support Suicide Prevention Efforts Among LGBTQ Youth During Pride Month

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Jun 06, 2022, 09:00 ET

Ahead of the national rollout of the 988 suicide prevention crisis line in July, the organizations are raising awareness of the importance of expanding resources to LGBTQ young people in crisis on a national and global level

NEW YORK, June 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) young people; the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness; and lululemon athletica inc., the technical athletic apparel and footwear company, today announced its expansion of its multi-year collaboration and support to bring awareness to the unique mental health challenges faced by LGBTQ youth, and to help end LGBTQ youth suicide.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34, while 1 in 6 U.S. youth ages 6-17 experience a mental health condition each year, and LGBTQ youth are more than four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers. This Pride season, lululemon is working with The Trevor Project and NAMI to shine a light on the mental health disparities faced by LGBTQ youth and support life-saving crisis intervention services. Both of these leading mental health organizations have worked closely with the federal government ahead of the July 16th launch of 988, and advocated for the new three-digit dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to include specialized resources for marginalized communities, including LGBTQ youth.

"We're living through a mental health crisis that is unrivaled in modern times," said Jessica Edwards, Chief Development Officer at NAMI. "Our young people have been disproportionately affected, and the impact on LGBTQ youth has been even worse. This Pride Month, as we prepare to roll out 988, we're especially proud of this partnership and thankful for Lululemon's support in our efforts to help young people — especially the most vulnerable — get the best possible mental health care, as early as possible. LGBT youth need to know during these difficult times, when hatred and bigotry rear their ugly heads, that they are not alone."

"At lululemon, our purpose is to elevate human potential by helping people feel their best, which includes removing barriers to equity so that everyone has a sense of belonging," said Nikki Neuburger, Chief Brand Officer, lululemon. "We continue to deepen our commitment to powerfully show up in allyship for our LGBTQIA2S+ employees and People Network, the LGBTQIA2S+ community, uplift LGBTQIA2S+ youth, and amplify the work of The Trevor Project and NAMI in providing our LGBTQIA2S+ youth a safe space to tackle mental health and suicide prevention. We are proud to commit an additional $1M, raising our total investment to $3M over the past two years towards supporting these efforts."

As The Trevor Project presses forward to reach the estimated 1.8 million LGBTQ youth who seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S., it's also dramatically scaling its impact to address the global need; the organization estimates that each year more than 40 million LGBTQ youth globally seriously consider suicide. "Our organization's mission has never been more critical in light of the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ attacks that we're seeing across the U.S. at this moment," said Amanda Ryan-Smith, Chief Development Officer at The Trevor Project. "Among the impactful initiatives ahead of us this year are the launch of our crisis services in Mexico, integrating with the national launch of the 988-suicide prevention crisis line, and an aggressive expansion of our advocacy work in response to harmful legislation. Lululemon's spirited commitment to this work is essential to our progress, and we are so grateful for their support as we continue our audacious journey to end suicide among LGBTQ young people."

In addition, together with The Trevor Project and NAMI, Lululemon's Centre for Social Impact which was launched in 2021 aims to disrupt inequity in wellbeing through movement, mindfulness and advocacy by amplifying the importance of mental health and youth suicide prevention within the LGBTQIA2S+ this Pride season. The Centre unifies lululemon's wellbeing initiatives which include providing access to wellbeing tools for more than 10 million people by 2025 and investing to advance equity in wellbeing in its local and global communities by 2025. For more information on lululemon's Centre for Social impact, visit: https://shop.lululemon.com/social-impact

About The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project is the world's largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people. The Trevor Project offers a suite of 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as the world's largest safe space social networking site for LGBTQ youth, TrevorSpace. Trevor also operates an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, an advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and a research team to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide.

About lululemon athletica inc.

lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) is a technical athletic apparel, footwear and accessories company for yoga, running, training, and most other activities, creating transformational products and experiences that build meaningful connections, unlocking greater possibility and wellbeing for all. Setting the bar in innovation of fabrics and functional designs, lululemon works with yogis and athletes in local communities around the world for continuous research and product feedback. For more information, visit lululemon.com.

About NAMI

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. Join the conversation at nami.org | facebook.com/nami | instagram.com/namicommunicate | twitter.com/namicommunicate #Together4MH

Contact for Press Inquiries:
Jackson Budinger, [email protected]
Richele Keas, [email protected]

SOURCE The Trevor Project, Inc