New York state announces $1 million awarded to connect transgender youth with mental health supports

Individual suicide prevention grants provided to NY Foundling, Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York, and the Rainbow Access Initiative

Submitted by the New York State Office of Mental Health

The New York State Office of Mental Health announced $1 million was conditionally awarded to three service providers to fund suicide prevention efforts among youth and young adults identifying as transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary, and help those questioning or struggling with gender identity. NY Foundling, Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York, and the Rainbow Access Initiative were each provided awards through the Connecting Youth to Mental Health Supports-TGNCNB initiative, part of the Lorena Borjas Transgender and Non-binary Wellness and Equity Fund, which provides funding to support community-based services for this underserved population and prioritizes trans-led and trans-staffed organizations.

“Tragically, there is a disproportionately high prevalence of suicide and suicide attempts among youth who identify as transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary,” Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said. “These awards will fund unique suicide prevention programs to connect transgender youth and young adults with the services to help them address their mental health needs.”

OMH awarded NY Foundling a $500,000 grant for its “Identity and Acceptance” program, which is designed to serve up to 125 transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary youth, with a specific emphasis on those who are Black, Indigenous, or other people of color. Through this program, the New York City-based service provider offers clinical services, events, community space, clothes, school supplies, materials, and other wrap-around services, with the goal of building a sense of safety and connectedness.

In addition, OMH awarded $370,000 to the Buffalo-based Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York, which serves all eight counties in the region. This initiative will serve up to 100 transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary youth, along with those questioning their gender, providing them with access to supportive relationships aimed at expanding resilience, and self-advocacy, while also fostering access to affirming mental health supports.

Also awarded through the program was $127,000 to the Albany-based Rainbow Access Initiative. The funding will be used for the Prism Transcend Program, which creates safe and inclusive peer support spaces, case management, and incorporating harm reduction strategies to foster community building among transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary youth between the ages of 16 and 25.

More than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ young people between the ages 13 to 24 seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S. – and at least one attempts suicide every 45 seconds, according to the Trevor Project’s 2023 National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People. The survey found 41% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including roughly half of transgender and non-binary youth.

Gov. Kathy Hochul established the Lorena Borjas Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund in 2022, allocating $2 million in state agency funding to support organizations that provide critical services for the transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary community. Last fall, she expanded this fund by directing the New York State Office of Mental Health to make an additional $1 million available to support suicide prevention programming for transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary youth.

This new funding supports innovative, wrap-around, treatment-adjacent suicide prevention interventions and facilitates partnerships between agencies and behavioral health providers to provide access to treatment. Conditionally awarded programs are required to provide culturally relevant suicide prevention interventions including individual and group supportive services, family education and supportive services, community engagement and outreach, academic and vocational support, positive youth development activities, risk assessment, and referral and linkage to a behavioral health provider.