Did you know that in Boulder County, LGBQ youth are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers? They’re also twice as likely to require medical treatment for their attempts, according to the 2009 Youth Behavior Risk Survey.

In response to similar rates across the country, sex columnist Dan Savage has launched a new project to assure these youth that “It Gets Better.”  “When a 15-year-old kills himself, he’s saying he can’t picture a future that is decent enough and happy enough to stick around for,” Savage says in a recent New York Times interview with Tara Parker-Pope.  “Gay adults can show our present lives and help them picture a future.”

The project uses a new YouTube video channel as an open mic where gay adults can speak to younger generations, assuring them that–if they can tough it out through high school–”it does get better.” Already dozens of videos have been posted sharing stories of high school survival and adulthood success, with thousands of views logged.

To read Dan Savage’s introduction to the project, click here.