In the wake of last night's news about a rollback of protections for transgender students, OSMI's thoughts are with the transgender community today. Suicide is particularly prevalent among transgender individuals; the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey Report, the largest survey examining the experiences of transgender people in the United States, found that 40% of its 27,715 respondents have attempted suicide in their lifetime—nearly nine times the attempted suicide rate in the U.S. population (4.6%). (source)
If you or someone you know is having a particularly hard time today, please seek immediate help by calling the Trans Lifeline at (877) 565-8860 in the U.S. or (877) 330-6366 in Canada. Occasionally, they may be unreachable due to unusually high call volume; if that happens, other options include the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or if you're more comfortable with text messaging, CrisisTextLine.org provides anonymous SMS-based support if you text "HOME" to 741741. All services are free and available 24/7.