{"id":72588,"date":"2018-08-30T18:25:32","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T22:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/following-jamel-myles-death-we-must-address-the-critical-need-to-support-lgbtq-youth\/"},"modified":"2018-08-30T18:25:32","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T22:25:32","slug":"following-jamel-myles-death-we-must-address-the-critical-need-to-support-lgbtq-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/following-jamel-myles-death-we-must-address-the-critical-need-to-support-lgbtq-youth\/","title":{"rendered":"Following Jamel Myles\u2019 Death, We Must Address the Critical Need to Support LGBTQ Youth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following Jamel Myles\u2019 Death, We Must Address the Critical Need to Support LGBTQ Youth<\/b>
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Trigger Warning<\/em><\/strong>: This post contains mentions of suicide.<\/em><\/p>\n

The tragic death of Denver nine-year-old Jamel Myles\u00a0by suicide<\/a> following extreme anti-gay<\/a> bullying at school has shaken LGBTQ and allied communities around the country, and comes as students are heading back to their classrooms.<\/p>\n

Myles had come out to his family over the summer and was excited to start the school year and tell his classmates \u00a0because he was \u201cproud of himself,\u201d said his mother Leia Pierce, reported by KDTV<\/a>. But just four days into the his new school year, all of that had changed. \u00a0According to family members, classmates told Jamel that \u201che should kill himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you do my son and I a favor?\u201d asked Pierce in an interview with The Daily Beast<\/a>. \u201cStand together as equals and show love to everyone, with acceptance of everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

HRC and the University of Connecticut\u2019s 2018 LGBTQ Youth Report<\/a> found alarming trends among more than 12,000 respondents, ranging in age from 13 to 17:<\/p>\n