Hands Across the Pond is a multimedia project created to link U.S. and U.K. leaders, technophiles, authors, editors, artists, actors, and LGBTQ youth-supporting organizations. Its mission is to raise awareness about the under-supported LGBTQ youth and young adult population; provide a source of proceeds for the involved non-profit organizations; to reach LGBTQ youth and adults in encouragement; and to encourage both adult and youth participation in reaching others to reduce LGBTQ youth and young adult suicide and self-harm.
The highest rate of teen homelessness is LGBTQ youth. The highest rate of suicide in any age group, is LGBTQ people. The most common cause of self-harm is guilt because they think there’s something wrong with who they are. Even when they have loving families, the community in which they live or the things they read about in the media have caused them to think that what they’re feeling and have gone through, most of the time from an early age, is wrong and not natural, broken even.
The most important message of all content past, present, and future is RESPECT and no matter who you are, you are OK.
You are beautiful
You are worthy
LGBT community members who are surviving and living, many living and LOVING life, need to tell their stories. Even straight allies have important stories to tell.
Because we don’t match the human preconception of what we should be, our thinking and relating are different when compared to that of those who were born to the gender and sexuality to which they physically match (CIS). How we (LGBT people) relate to people across genders and identities is different when compared to straight/CIS people, because we’re not the same, because we see people differently, because we see relationships differently, and all of this, because our frame of reference is different. We, straight and LGBT alike, need to talk about these things in a way that others can find that conversation and become a part of it. Too many LGBTQ people think they are alone or that no one will understand them. You are not alone and someone understands you, regardless of your circumstances.
| Hands Across the Pond Tweets by @HandsAcrossPond |
Ann Townsend Tweets by @wouldbealex |