FRESNO, Calif. -- AmeriCorps has teamed up with the nonprofit Equality California to offer a groundbreaking mentorship program for LGBTQ+ teens in the state. The Equality California Mentorship Corps has deployed 20 trained mentors to reach out to students at ten middle- and high schools in Fresno.

Brittney Yang, who serves as a mentor, said the program works like Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

"The end goal of this program is to let them really dive into their own identities, while also preparing them to become leaders by the end of the year," Yang explained.

The mentors and students work through a curriculum designed to help kids develop self-confidence, manage stress, identify role models and plan for their future by setting personal, academic and career goals. Students can be referred by teachers or counselors, or can sign up on their own.

Chris Negri, program manager for Equality California, said a 2019 study by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the University of Connecticut found half of all LGBTQ+ identifying teens in California reported being teased or bullied, and a quarter have been threatened with physical violence at least once because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

"There's a ton of evidence that kids who are LGBT face higher rates of bullying and harassment," Negri observed. "And so that has repercussions throughout their lives in higher rates of depression, suicide, higher dropout rates."

The program began in 2020, with 52 kids receiving mentoring sessions online. With school returning to in-person instruction, organizers hope to reach out to more students. Mentors get credit for one year of public service with AmeriCorps.

Earlier this spring, Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed a GOP-authored bill banning transgender girls from school sports. Now, Holcomb's own party is poised to override the veto and force the bill into law next week.

Chris Paulsen, CEO of Indiana Youth Group, said her organization has resources for transgender teens who may be facing mental-health difficulties because of the bill and its surrounding political rhetoric, including one-on-one counseling and peer-to-peer support groups.

"They can choose which group they feel comfortable in," Paulsen explained. "We have a trans and nonbinary discussion group, we have a queer and trans people-of-color group, and then there's groups that just allow youths to relax and feel good about themselves."

Republican leaders say they will use next Tuesday's Technical Corrections Day to override Holcomb's veto. According to its authors, the bill aims to guarantee fair play in school sports.

In his veto message, Holcomb pushed back against the assertion, essentially writing the bill was attempting to address a nonexistent issue and could open the state to lawsuits.

Indiana's bill is part of a nationwide wave of such measures, as 16 states have enacted laws banning trans students from sports.

Paulsen pointed to data from the Trevor Project indicating even the introduction of such bills can have serious impacts on trans kids' mental health.

"Statistics say that 85% of trans and nonbinary teens will be negatively impacted by just the bill being heard, and we're seeing that," Paulsen pointed out. "We're trying to support those youths by letting them know they are valued, and their identities are real, and we see them as they are."

While the Indiana Youth Group is based in Indianapolis, Paulsen said the organization provides remote support to students across the state via its Virtual IYG program.

New Mexico and 18 other states have announced plans to introduce legislation they say will be needed to protect transgender kids from civil and criminal penalties when seeking gender-affirming care.

The proactive response follows proposed legislation in Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Alabama and other states criminalizing such care.

Havens Levitt, chair of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network of New Mexico, said the dehumanizing language increasingly used to describe trans students takes a toll on kids' mental health.

"It's really heartbreaking to know that students hear some of the incredibly hateful things that are being said about them from adults," Levitt explained. "When our students in New Mexico hear those things, I know that it impacts them."

At a news conference in California last week, a coalition of LGBTQ legislators, health providers and civil-rights groups, including representatives from New Mexico, announced plans to pass laws to provide safe havens for trans youths and their families.

For nearly 20 years, New Mexico has had a law to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Three years ago, legislators also passed the "Safe Schools for All Students Act" which required schools to enact anti-bullying policies. Nonetheless, Levitt noted some areas of the state could use more resources to keep students safe.

"Transgender people have incredibly high rates of suicide attempt and completion," Levitt pointed out. "That just contributes to that sense of not belonging and not having the right to live the way they want to live and be who they want to be."

Upon taking office, President Joe Biden reversed several anti-LGBTQ executive orders issued under President Donald Trump, but Levitt worries with the new attacks, the fight for civil rights is not over.

"There's so many things happening right now that feel like we're going to live in this universe of two Americas," Levitt lamented. "It feels like we're going to be playing defense for I don't know how long, but it's definitely not very comfortable."

There were more than 300 bills introduced targeting the LGBTQ community nationwide in 2022, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Silence? Yes. Inaction? No. Today marks the annual Day of Silence, led by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, to raise awareness about the discrimination and harassment LGBTQ+ students face in schools.

Hundreds of anti-trans bills have been introduced across the nation in 2022 alone, including in Missouri.

Katy Erker-Lynch, executive director of PROMO Missouri, noted one bill the Legislature is considering would prohibit gender-affirming health care for trans children, and another would ban transgender girls from participating in girls' sports.

"It's not really about saving women's sports," Erker-Lynch asserted. "It's about discrimination. So it's really, 'OK, can we ban kids from athletics? Can we ban kids from health care?' And the question that really begs, is whether LGBTQ+ people should be treated fairly across all areas of life."

Last week, the Missouri House advanced the school sports bill by including it in a separate bill on how elections are run. Missouri is also among the states introducing legislation similar to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which prohibits including topics around gender identity and sexual orientation in school curricula.

In addition to being discriminatory, Erker-Lynch added the health care bill represents a gross misunderstanding about what gender-affirming care really is. According to psychologists and pediatricians, it starts with mental health care, and can include treatments like puberty- or hormone-blockers.

But despite language in the bill regarding surgeries for minors, it's not the care trans kids get, experts maintained. Whether to undergo a gender confirmation surgery is a decision they make as adults.

"The fact of the matter is denying best practice medical care and support to transgender youth can be life-threatening," Erker-Lynch asserted. "Politicians are playing a really dangerous game with the health care and mental wellness of trans youth."

She pointed to studies showing this type of care saves lives. Trans and nonbinary youth experience anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation at far higher rates than their cisgender peers.