The tragic news of recent teen suicides paired with a climate of anti-LGBT bullying in many schools has taken an enormous toll on our community and on our nation as a whole. While we are hard at work each day, fighting to prevent bullying and discrimination in schools, this issue also deeply affects all of us here at HRC on a very personal level.

It is for this reason that many of us came together this week to lend our voices to the “It Gets Better” project. The campaign has been created in response to the epidemic of bully-related suicides around the country to remind teens that life gets better, and that many of the feelings that can seem overwhelming won’t be around forever.

All of us here – from the newest intern to HRC president Joe Solmonese – feel passionately about this issue, and we sincerely wish that the video will lend a bit of hope to those in need. Teens, and anyone else struggling with thoughts of suicide, need to be told that things will improve, and that life will get better.

I hope that no matter who you are, you will take the time to check out “It Gets Better.” If you want to know more about the work that we here at HRC are doing to make our schools a more safe and welcoming place, check out our Schools & Youth resources. Most importantly, the Trevor Project and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline have resources available for those in crisis. No matter who you are, there is someone out there that cares for you. Hang on, it gets better.