MESSAGE FROM FOUNDER,
MAXWELL POTH

Suicide is still the leading cause of death for ages 10-17 in many states. Other communities falling in second place but any and all lives lost is one too many. I want to help prevent this statistic from existing. 

Growing up Mormon in Utah and coming out as a teenager presented me with more trials than any young person should have to go through. I was not only told that who I was becoming is a sin but the pressures my community created in our town made it almost impossible to love myself. 

I wish when I was younger I had a project where I could discover queer youth like me. I wish I could have read their own personal stories of what it is like being queer where they are from and what they are doing to be confident and happy in their own skin while simultaneously living in a community that may not understand them or accept them. Maybe then I would have felt less alone in a sea of humans who saw me as different. 

I created Project Contrast to create that platform; to give queer youth around the country a voice to share their stories and connect with one another. Now, I travel to places where you’d never think to visit and meet LGBTQ+ communities that are stronger than you could ever imagine. These young people have so much to say and want to help struggling queer youth across the country realize they are not alone. 

We all understand that it will get better but what can these kids do until it gets better? 

You don’t have to leave your community to find community. They exist everywhere and at Project Contrast we aim to help struggling queer youth love themselves and even save the lives of youth who feel like they can’t go on. 

You are loved.