Local singer/songwriter Skott Freedman and actress Kathy Kinney will headline the second annual “Olè Trevor” fund-raiser, which takes place at Olè Madrid restaurant in San Diego on Wednesday, July 27, at 7:00 p.m. The event will raise money for The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization that promotes acceptance of gay and questioning youth and aids in suicide prevention. The organization runs the Trevor Helpline (866) 4-U-TREVOR, which is the only national toll-free 24-hour, 365 day-a-year confidential suicide hotline for gay and questioning youth.

The short film Trevor, an 18-minute comedy/drama about a gay 13-year-old boy, was the foundation and catalyst for the Trevor Project. When rejected by friends and peers because of his sexuality, Trevor makes an unsuccessful attempt to take his life in the film, which won the 1994 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, as well as a list of other awards and recognitions, including a 1995 Sundance Film Festival honorable mention. The film is based on “Dear Diary,” one of the stories that made up Jim Lecesne’s one-man show Word of Mouth.

Trevor producer Randy Stone, director/producer Peggy Rajski and Lecesne co-founded the Trevor Helpline to coincide with the airing of Trevor, which was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres on HBO in 1998.

The trained staff at the San Francisco Suicide Prevention Center handles all calls for the Trevor Helpline, which has separate 24-hour-a-day phone lines dedicated to the Trevor Project. Startup funds for the helpline were provided by a grant from The Colin Higgins Foundation. Individual donations and foundation grants have continued to fund the helpline throughout its seven-year history.

“I was so moved by it that I was laughing and crying,” Rajski said of Lecesne’s play. “My friend and producing partner, Randy Stone, and I decided to make it into a film. We did it because we were so moved by the piece.”

Olè Madrid owners John and Jill Ealy will host the fund-raiser, which features a comedy performance by Kinney, music by Freedman and appearances by out actor Chad Allen (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”) and Rajski. The evening will also feature Spanish tapas, cocktails, live Flamenco music and dancing. A silent auction will include artwork by acclaimed photographer Brie Childers.

“I support The Trevor Project because, with such a high suicide rate among gay and lesbian teens, they need a place to find hope to survive,” said Kinney, who played Mimi Bobeck on television’s “The Drew Carey Show,” which ended its nine-year run on ABC last year. “I think The Trevor Project gives them that hope, and also the sense of the larger community that is there to support them.”

Freedman said The Trevor Project’s mission hits close to home, and it’s something very important to him.

“I’m thrilled to be involved with the Trevor Project. There is a growing crisis of LGBT youth with nowhere to turn,” said Freedman. “It is up to every community to pitch in and provide resources that these teenagers need. I volunteered at the Hillcrest Youth Center last year for these very reasons. Ten years ago I, too, was Trevor.”

The Trevor Project president and executive director Jorge Valencia came on board in 2001 and has seen the small non-profit grow since then. During the four years he has been on board, he said the budget size has increased five-fold, and the board of directors has grown from six to 23 members. Currently, The Trevor Project only has three full-time and two part-time employees.

“We’ve been in the unique position where people are finding out about the mission of the Trevor Project, and I think people can relate on all levels to the teens that we’re trying to help,” said Valencia. “I think people can relate to a time when they might have felt alone, felt afraid … I think it’s because people understand how important it is that we keep our teens alive.”

The Trevor Project also reaches teens through the Trevor Educational Package, which can be downloaded on the Trevor Project’s Web site. The educational package combines the film Trevor with teaching guides and support materials for school and institutional use. It has since been disseminated to hundreds of schools, universities, community groups and professional organizations around the country.

Earlier this year Valencia said a pilot “Survival Kit” program was sent to 200 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The survival kits contained a series of posters, teaching guides, a copy of Trevor and an evaluation form so educators can provide feedback.

“I’m very happy to say that the feedback that has come back has been phenomenally good,” said Valencia. “Teachers are finding out themselves about the high suicide rate among LGBT teens. In the course of this, they are finding out how they can help teenagers become gatekeepers with each other. They can help each other identify these signs and help their peers stay alive.”

According to the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services, gay teens are three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. The World Health Organization cites suicide as one of the top three causes of death among 15-24 year olds.

“They’re fearful that they may be turned out to the streets, so these teenagers [gay teens] are at a very high risk of suicide. And because of The Trevor Project, we’re able to keep these teens alive on a day-to-day basis,” Valencia said.

The Trevor Helpline receives between 1,000 and 1,200 calls a month from teens all over the nation. Since the helpline was founded in 1998, over 30,000 calls have come in from youth from all over the United States, with about 80 percent coming from the middle of the country. Valencia said that 30 percent of their callers are repeat callers.

Near the end of 2004, the WB drama “Jack & Bobby” aired an episode about a gay teen that could not reconcile his sexuality and ended up committing suicide. At the end of that poignant episode, a seven-second clip with The Trevor Project’s number and Web address was displayed along with a voice-over promoting the organization’s services. According to Andy Scheer, program and special events manager at the Trevor Project, the helpline received 143 calls that night between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. He said they usually receive about 10 per month during that timeframe.

A 30-second Public Service Announcement (PSA) was recently developed for the Trevor Project with assistance from Sony and a production company called Ant Farm. Valencia hopes the PSA can be distributed to stations throughout the United States in the next 30 to 45 days. He said he hopes to reach teens that don’t necessarily live in thriving metropolitan areas.

“Kids in rural towns, in small areas, that feel they are the only ones that are going through what they’re going through – we really want to reach those kids,” Valencia said.

For tickets to the Olè Trevor fund-raiser visit this article online at www.gaylesbiantimes.com for a link to the Trevor Project Web site, or call (310) 271-8845. Tickets are also available at Olé Madrid, located at 751 Fifth Ave. in San Diego. Tickets are $30 each or two for $55.