Content warning: this message references suicide.
Hi,
My name is Miguel*, I moved to Colombia from another country a while ago. Last year, with the pandemic and the homesickness, things became very difficult for me. The feeling of loneliness was very, very intense.
To make things even more challenging, I had recently started taking hormones (I haven't told you yet: I am a trans person) and I was still adjusting to the changes.
I felt trapped in a fog that didn't let me see a path for things to get better, nor anyone who could help me. My anxiety increased so much that I began to have thoughts about dying – it was a horrible time.
I was scared, but one thing came through the fog and saved my life – literally.
It was the Línea SalvaVidas, an emergency and suicide prevention service from the Sergio Urrego Foundation.
It was so important to receive this support, Luc. It's hard to explain. Receiving care and support, discovering new tools to deal with my moments of crisis, starting to build a support network...
But the requests for help – like mine – keep coming. There are hundreds of young people, many of them LGBT+, who are facing situations of discrimination, violence, and LGBTphobia.
To carry this work forward, Línea SalvaVidas needs you.
Are you willing to make a donation so that the helpline can continue saving lives in Colombia?
The Sergio Urrego Foundation is a Colombian organization that fights bullying and discrimination in schools and works hard to prevent suicide among LGBT+ youth. It was founded by Alba Reyes, mother of Sergio, a young gay man who took his own life in 2014 after months of harassment at the school where he studied.
In 2019, the Foundation created the hotline that helped me. It was the first full-time psychological hotline of its kind in Colombia. There have been over 6,000 people supported and so many lives saved – like mine.
And what's more: the helpline is open at any time of the day, on any day of the week, through calls, email, WhatsApp and social media.
That's why, when All Out asked me to share my story with you, I agreed immediately.
Un abrazo,
Miguel*
* I used an alias to protect my identity.
P.S. If you or someone you know is in the United States and needs help, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. For crisis support in Colombia (or another country in Latin America), you can call the helpline at +57 311 766 8666 or text them via WhatsApp to the same number.
SOURCES:
●︎ Suicide prevention – World Health Organization
● Colombia mother fights bullying after gay son dies by suicide – Washington Blade, September 29, 2018
● Sergio Urrego Foundation has a "lifeline" available for those who need help – El Espectador, May 4, 2020 (in Spanish)
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