Losing My Gay Son To Suicide Changed The Way I View My Christian Faith

To try and change what God has created causes significant harm.

He was a vibrant, intelligent and talented young man. He died by suicide when he was 18, after he was viciously cyberbullied on his college campus. And what breaks my heart is that I believe Tyler was bullied because he was gay, another God-given trait he was born with. Who Tyler loved was as unchangeable as his bright, natural hair color, and another person used that to humiliate him and crush his spirit.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

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LGBT Suicide in Britain - Health (2018)

November 2018

Key findings

Half of LGBT people (52 per cent) said they’ve experienced depression in the last year.
One in eight LGBT people aged 18-24 (13 per cent) said they’ve attempted to take their own life in the last year.
Almost half of trans people (46 per cent) have thought about taking their own life in the last year, 31 per cent of LGB people who aren’t trans said the same.
Forty-one per cent of non-binary people said they harmed themselves in the last year compared to 20 per cent of LGBT women and 12 per cent of GBT men.
One in six LGBT people (16 per cent) said they drank alcohol almost every day over the last year.
One in eight LGBT people aged 18-24 (13 per cent) took drugs at least once a month.
One in eight LGBT people (13 per cent) have experienced some form of unequal treatment from healthcare staff because they’re LGBT.
Almost one in four LGBT people (23 per cent) have witnessed discriminatory or negative remarks against LGBT people by healthcare staff. In the last year alone, six per cent of LGBT people – including 20 per cent of trans people – have witnessed these remarks.
One in twenty LGBT people (five per cent) have been pressured to access services to question or change their sexual orientation when accessing healthcare services.
One in five LGBT people (19 per cent) aren’t out to any healthcare professional about their sexual orientation when seeking general medical care. This number rises to 40 per cent of bi men and 29 per cent of bi women.
One in seven LGBT people (14 per cent) have avoided treatment for fear of discrimination because they're LGBT.

What respondents said

I got sectioned after a suicide attempt and the nurse said that my mental health problems were due to allowing Satan in my soul. If I just accepted my true gender then God could forgive me.

Elijah, 19 (South East)

I am being treated for depression, which is caused in part by not being able to access any LGBT senior age-related groups within 80 miles of me. I would be actively involved in such a group if I could find one, but there is nothing. I feel very isolated.

Rosemary, 70 (Wales)

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Hamilton Hall is always here and available for any men who feel suicidal. Come and have a chat with John who will probably offer a free few days to come and share and see if we can find some way of seeing things differently in order to help. Most reasons for suicide are avoidable when you see things from a different angle and with a little help and encouragement, life can take a different view - and one that has a happier and more contented future. So when you are feeling desperate, and when you think no one cares, and when you think there is nowhere to go -

ALWAYS