The Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, is one of twenty recipients of $25 million in grants from Google.
Through the Google AI Impact Challenge, an open call to nonprofits and research institutions, the Trevor Project was selected to receive $1.5 million to "to assess suicide risk level of LGBTQ youth in crisis more quickly."
According to a press release, Trevor Project will work closely with Google AI experts to "incorporate machine learning and natural language processing into its crisis services, which save young LGBTQ lives by supporting them via phone, chat, and text. With Google’s help, The Trevor Project will be able to assess suicide risk level of youth in crisis more quickly, allowing counselors to better tailor their support and to provide relevant resources and consistent quality of care."
Amit Paley, CEO & Executive Director of The Trevor Project, is excited to put the money to good use.
"The Trevor Project estimates that each year more than 1.5 million LGBTQ youth in the U.S. experience suicidal ideation or some form of crisis - and many of their moments of crisis are unique and extremely personal," he said. "Our crisis counselors work tirelessly every day to support these LGBTQ youth. This support from Google will allow our counselors to leverage AI and leading-edge technology to identify highest risk youth faster and serve them with even higher quality of care."
Jacquelline Fuller, President of Google.org, is thrilled to work with the Trevor Project.
"At Google, we have seen how AI can help us accomplish daily tasks and travels, and we believe in its potential to help address some of the world’s biggest humanitarian challenges," she said. "We are excited to support The Trevor Project’s work to use AI to achieve even greater social impact."
The Trevor Projects emphasized how AI technology will become a cornerstone in their suicide prevention work.
"Vulnerable communities including LGBTQ youth deserve to be supported with the latest innovations in health technology," said the Chief of Staff, Sam Dorison.