By 2020, statistics from the United Nations project that 1 adolescent will take their life nearly every day in chile. Todo Mejora Foundation Chile was created in 2012 to prevent this from happening. Since 2012, has successfully reached millions of youth and families through social and conventional media; trained over 10,000 mental health and education professionals; and, provided technical assistance to the President's Executive Secretariat and the Ministry of Health, among others.
Chile has one of the highest rates of youth suicide in Latin America. According to our own research, and supported by UNICEF Chile, LGBT children suffer the brunt of school-based discrimination and are 2 times as likely to be absent from classes. Additionally, they are 4 to 8 times more likely to commit suicide than their straight counterparts. Public services are not designed to respond to these realities, presenting a grave endangerment for LGBT children throughout the country.
Since 2016, Todo Mejora has focused its efforts on: a) Providing technical assistance to improve government policies and programs; b) Adapting and implementing globally tested interventions to the Chilean context; c) Training school and healthcare professionals to be able to address sexual diversity matters appropriately; d) Transmit messages of hope to children through TV, radio and social media; and e) Providing educational materials to schools and families; f) Operate a daily suicide hotline.
By the end of 2021, Todo Mejora will have: 1) Reached over 3 million people through more than 150 TV and media stories; 2) Trained an additional 1,500 professionals who work directly with young people; 3) Answered the direct call for help of more than 1,000 children and families; 4) Recruited 100 new members; 5) Carried out a national study on bullying prevention; 6) Increased its follower base by 25%; and 7) Influenced the debates on gender identity, children's and the adoptions laws.
