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The stories show up in the news all too often. A young American conflicted over his or her sexual identity chooses suicide.
On Sept. 22, 2010, Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old Rutgers University student, was secretly recorded on a webcam and streamed by his roommate while kissing another man. Three days later he jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge.
On Sept. 27, 2010, 13-year-old Asher Brown finally got up the nerve to tell his parents that he thought he was gay.
At school that day he was ridiculed by his classmates. That afternoon he got his stepfather's 9 mm Beretta and shot and killed himself.
The facts are staggering: According to a 2009 study published in Pediatrics, gay youth are about 4 to 5 times more like likely to commit suicide than other youth.
If they are rejected by their families, these youth are eight times more likely to commit suicide.
One N.C. Central University professor says he knows what it's like to feel as if you have no one to turn to and nowhere to go.
"I needed to know it gets better. I had a group of friends that helped make a difference," said Brett Webb-Mitchell, an associate professor in the department of English and mass communication.
Webb-Mitchell is working hard to make sure that NCCU is a safe place for all LGBTQ students. LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning.
Webb-Mitchell, an openly gay Presbyterian minister, found inspiration in the It Gets Better Project, a national support organization that supports LGBTQ youth.
At its web site, www.itgetsbetter.org, offers supportive videos from individuals including President Barack Obama, Ellen DeGeneres, Google employees, national sports teams and more.
The It Gets Better Project also works with The Trevor Project to end LGBTQ youth suicide by providing lifesaving resources, including 24-hour telephone counseling.
Webb-Mitchell and 11 other NCCU faculty and staff members have donated money and purchased copies of the book "It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living," by the project's founders Dan Savage and Terry Miller.
The book includes first-hand accounts of coming out of the closet, the struggle of being openly gay, and stories from straight allies.
The group plans to distribute copies to the NCCU Women's Center, Shepard Library, and to local libraries and gay/straight alliance groups.
Webb-Mitchell said he's also working with Tia Marie Doxey, director of student life assessment, to implement Safe Zone, a campus-wide faculty and staff training program that would promote safe areas for students where they can feel free of judgment.
Webb-Mitchell also is working to establish an LGBTQ center at NCCU, similar to those at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University.
Experts say this supportive approach can have a real impact.
According to Jennifer Welsh in the science web site LiveScience.com, a supportive environment in schools and communities can cut suicide rates significantly.
"My ultimate goal is to be sure that LGBTQ students, faculty, staff, administrators, and allies know that it's OK to be who you are created to be," said Webb-Mitchell.
Students feeling the need for someone to talk to can call the GLBT National Youth Talkline at 800-246-7743 or the Trevor Lifeline at 866-488-7386.
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