Safe Space SD

By Caliber Creative

Over the last week, conversations surrounding transgender students in South Dakota have been headlines in the news and abuzz on social media.

According to a UCLA research group, the Williams Institute, there are 1,360 youth, ages 13-19, in South Dakota who identify as transgender. Crunch the numbers and that’s about 1.7 percent of all youth in our state.

Data also has proven that this group is more at-risk when it comes to suicide. For years, the Helpline Center and Caliber Creative have been partners in developing statewide suicide prevention campaigns for these at-risk populations with the mission of having information readily available for them when they need help the most.

Last fall, we rolled out Safe Space SD, an ad campaign developed specifically for LGBTQ students attending South Dakota high schools. The mission of this campaign was to not only reach the LGBTQ segment, and inform them about the Helpline Center and its services, but also to alert faculty members and other students about the warning signs related to suicide and the resources available in our state.

Included in this campaign is a poster series, website, online video and social media graphics that can be downloaded and shared via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram by students, teachers and family members who want to spread awareness and promote the underlying message that ‘you are not alone.’

For more information about this campaign, visit safespacesd.org.