After Nex Benedict's death, LGBTQ youth group saw 200% rise in crisis contacts from Oklahoma

Source: NBC News

After Nex Benedict’s death, LGBTQ youth group saw 200% rise in crisis contacts from Oklahoma

The Rainbow Youth Project, a national LGBTQ suicide prevention group, also said calls increased ahead of a protest in Owasso, Oklahoma, by Westboro Baptist Church.

March 7, 2024, 4:53 PM EST
By Jo Yurcaba

A national LGBTQ youth nonprofit group said crisis calls from Oklahoma more than tripled in the weeks after transgender student Nex Benedict died there on Feb. 8.

Lance Preston, founder of the Indianapolis-based Rainbow Youth Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization, said the group’s crisis hotline for LGBTQ young people received 1,097 contacts, including calls and online messages, from Oklahoma in February — an increase of more than 200% from its monthly average of 350 contacts.

The group received just under 1,000 of those contacts after Feb. 16, when Nex’s death began to receive widespread media attention. Of the 1,097 contacts, 87% reported incidents of bullying in Oklahoma schools.

“The high volume of contacts underscores the pressing need for intervention and support services — support services that are far too often unavailable, especially in rural areas of the country,” Preston said at a news conference Thursday hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization.

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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nex-benedicts-death-lgbtq-youth-group-saw-200-rise-crisis-contacts-okl-rcna142279