A North Dakota initiative rooted in Christian love, inviting LGBTQ people, families, and churches to listen to one another and build relationships grounded in dignity and respect.
Help is available now
If you are thinking about suicide or need immediate emotional support in the United States, call or text 988, or use the 988 Lifeline chat. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day.
LGBTQ young people can also contact The Trevor Project: call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678678.
If there is immediate danger or an urgent medical need, call 911.
Building Bridges ND is not a crisis service, counseling provider, or emergency response organization, and its forms are not monitored in real time.
Rooted in Christian faith and Jesus’ call to love our neighbors, our mission is to help save lives and treat LGBTQ people and their families with kindness, dignity, and love.
We believe every person is created in the image of God. We seek to put that belief into practice by listening, addressing mistreatment, encouraging belonging, and helping people connect with qualified support when needed.
Everyone is welcome, whatever their faith or beliefs. Compassion does not depend on agreement, and no one should have to earn kindness or love.
Listening with care, taking painful experiences seriously, and showing the love of Jesus through kindness and respect.
Making room for honest questions and differences in belief while keeping conversations respectful and relationships open.
Holding firmly to the dignity of every person. Disagreement never excuses humiliation, threats, bullying, or mistreatment.
Faith matters to this work, and people bring different theological and political convictions. Participation does not require agreement on every question. Our shared purpose is to understand our neighbors, recognize the impact of our words and actions, and treat LGBTQ people and their families with love and respect.
In the CDC’s 2023 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 41% of LGBTQ+ high-school students reported seriously considering attempting suicide during the previous year, compared with 13% of cisgender, heterosexual students. A separate analysis of the same survey reported 52.9% among transgender students.
These are national findings, not estimates for North Dakota. They describe group-level differences and do not establish what caused any individual’s distress or attribute it to a particular church, belief, or person. Suicide risk has multiple contributing factors. CDC research also found that feeling connected at school and having adults who try to meet a young person’s basic needs were associated with lower levels of several mental-health and suicide-risk indicators.
Mistreatment matters. In the same 2023 CDC survey, 29% of LGBTQ+ high-school students reported being bullied at school during the previous year, compared with 16% of cisgender, heterosexual students.
Support offers hope. In the Trevor Project’s 2025 U.S. survey of LGBTQ+ young people ages 13–24, respondents who described their communities as very accepting reported past-year suicide attempts at 6%, compared with 18% among those describing their communities as very unaccepting. This is an association, not proof that acceptance alone caused the difference. The online survey was not a nationally representative random sample, and these figures are not North Dakota-specific.
Sources: CDC 2023 bullying findings; Trevor Project 2025 survey and methodology (published May 2026).
Our response is to take well-being seriously: listen, maintain connection, address mistreatment, and encourage qualified help when needed.
Sources: CDC LGBTQ+ youth health summary; 2023 YRBS transgender-student analysis; 2023 YRBS protective-factor analysis. Analyses published in 2024.
Every young person deserves to be heard, cared for, and connected to support.
Young people deserve safety, connection, and adults who take their well-being seriously. Listening without ridicule, interrupting bullying, keeping relationships open, and helping someone find qualified support are practical ways to care. LGBTQ young people also have strengths, aspirations, and lives that extend far beyond the difficulties they may face.
When a child shares that they are LGBTQ, parents may have questions about their child’s well-being, their relationship, and their faith. We want to make room for parents to listen, learn, and work through those questions with compassion. You do not need to have every answer to let your child know: you are loved, you belong in this family, and we will keep walking together.
North Dakota Stories
If you are LGBTQ and have a connection to North Dakota, we invite you to share your experience without providing your name—the difficult moments, the people who showed you love, your experience with faith, and what you wish others understood.
You choose what to share and whether your words may be published.
Here, acceptance means listening, protecting people from mistreatment, and treating them as valued neighbors. It does not require agreement on every theological question. LGBTQ people are welcome to participate without defending their identity, adopting a faith, or agreeing with someone else’s beliefs.
Learn About This ProjectBuilding Bridges ND is taking shape. We welcome interest from LGBTQ North Dakotans, families, churches, and neighbors who want to help build more compassionate communities.
Messages are reviewed privately and are not posted to the website. This form is for non-urgent communication and is not monitored in real time.
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