Responding to a study conducted by GLSEN, three organisations (The Trevor Project, Straight But Not Narrow, and human I-T) created a program to provide rural and low-income LGBT youth with digital devices and resources to connect with other teens like themselves and to help them better organise.
The joint program encourages teens who are better off to donate unused digital devices such as laptops, smartphones and tablets in order to be cleaned up, installed with certain software (like an LGBT specific social network) and distributed to gender and sexuality centers across America.
Abbe Land, executive director and CEO of The Trevor Project said that connections made online are critical for queer youth.
For young LGBTQ people, it may not be easy to find others like them nearby. At The Trevor Project, we know that connecting to a community can lead to support and friendships, as well as reduce the risk for suicide attempts and other high-risk behaviors.
Hutcherson himself has already donated one of his computers to the program.
It’s awesome to know that it’ll be used to help a young person out there who, before this campaign, wasn’t able to get access to information and resources that could really help them. I’ve always respected the work that The Trevor Project does, and to have an opportunity for Straight But Not Narrow to collaborate with them on a campaign like Power On is exciting.
Hutcherson has long been a vocal advocate of LGBT issues, publicly supporting marriage equality, co-starring as the teen son of a lesbian couple in the critically acclaimed 2010 film “The Kids Are All Right,” and speaking about the potential of his own sexuality to be less than completely heterosexual.
Maybe I could say right now I’m 100 percent straight. But who knows? In a fucking year, I could meet a guy and be like, ‘Whoa, I’m attracted to this person.’ I’ve met guys all the time that I’m like, ‘Damn, that’s a good-looking guy, you know?’ I’ve never been, like, ‘Oh, I want to kiss that guy.’ I really love women. But I think defining yourself as 100% anything is kind of near-sighted and close-minded.
Seems like Hutcherson is putting his star power and his digital devices where his mouth is.
Image via Getty.
