Real Action for Kids: The Podcast

Content note: This episode discusses youth suicide and mental health. If you or a young person in your life needs support right now, crisis resources are listed below.

Last year, 36% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered suicide. That’s more than 1.8 million young people. As our guest says, that risk isn’t part of who they are. It’s a response to how the world responds to them.

This week, host Dean Wong welcomes Phii Regis, Manager of Public Training at The Trevor Project, to the podcast. Phii trains youth-serving professionals across the country to be strong, informed allies of LGBTQ+ youth. Before joining Trevor, they spent 10 years leading LGBTQ+ inclusion training at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Together they unpack why 84% of LGBTQ+ youth want mental health care and why so many still can’t get it. They also cover what the adults in a young person’s life can do about it starting today. Phii shares a practical tool every parent and educator can use right away, and both Dean and Phii open up about their own coming-out journeys and the language gaps they had to cross with their families.

If you’ve ever worried about saying the wrong thing, this conversation is for you.

In this episode:

• What’s driving the mental health gap for LGBTQ+ youth: discrimination, family rejection, stigma and fear
• The three biggest barriers to care: access, mental health stigma, and fear that providers will out them or that they’ll have to educate their providers
• Why being present, open and non-judgmental matters more than having the right answer
• “Mirroring language”: how to affirm a young person’s identity even if you don’t know the term

Correction: Around 16:46, Phii names one of The Trevor Project’s 24/7 crisis programs as “TrevorSpace.” They meant “TrevorText.” TrevorSpace is Trevor’s online peer community, which Phii goes on to describe as one of their prevention programs.

Get support from The Trevor Project (24/7, free and confidential):

• Call: 1-866-488-7386
• Text: START to 678-678
• Chat: TrevorChat.org
• Community: TrevorSpace.org, a safe online community for LGBTQ+ young people

Anyone in crisis can also call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

For parents, educators and youth-serving professionals:

• Trevor Ally Training: thetrevorproject.org/ally-training
• CARE Training for schools, healthcare and youth-serving organizations: thetrevorproject.org/care-training
• Contact The Trevor Project: thetrevorproject.org/contact-us
• Learn more: TheTrevorProject.org

Credits:

• Host and Executive Producer: Dean Wong
• Producer: Katie Mecklenburg
• Guest Coordinator: Kat Watanabe
• Production Engineer and Editor: Vini Pimenta
• Music: AM Brands
• Recorded at Akakū: Maui Community Media
• Produced by Imua Family Services

About Real Action for Kids: The Podcast
Real Action for Kids is hosted by Dean Wong, CEO of Imua Family Services. Each episode features real parents, philanthropists and community members from Maui and across Hawaiʻi talking about what keiki and families need today, and where we’re falling short.

Listen, share and subscribe
If this episode meant something to you, send it to someone who needs to hear it. You can follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you listen. A rating or a quick review helps other families find us.

Get involved
To learn more or support the work, visit RealActionforKids.org.

Instagram and Facebook: @realactionforkids
Imua Family Services: @discoverimua on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads and LinkedIn

Credits
Host and Executive Producer: Dean Wong
Producer: Katie Mecklenburg
Guest Coordinator: Kat Watanabe
Production Engineer and Editor: Vini Pimenta
Music: AM Brands
Recorded at Akakū: Maui Community Media
Produced by Imua Family Services

When teens call YouthLine, some of them ask, “Are you AI?” The answer is no. It’s another teenager, trained to listen.

In our first episode, host Dean Wong sits down with Emily Moser, National YouthLine Director at Lines for Life. They talk about why youth suicide rates are rising, what kids actually talk about when they reach out, and why teens trust other teens first. Emily explains how YouthLine grew from 9 volunteers to more than 200, now handling over 26,000 contacts a year. She also shares how it came to Maui, where local youth are now answering calls from the Kahului call center.

Emily speaks as a parent, too. She shares how she built trust with her own two boys: playing catch in the backyard, taking a breath before reacting, and talking through tough topics “in the third person.” She also tells the April Fools’ Day prank that tested every skill she had.

Reach YouthLine
YouthLine is a free, confidential help line for youth, answered by trained teen volunteers. No problem is too big or too small.
Call: 877-968-8491
Text: teen2teen to 839863
Learn more: theyouthline.org

If you are in crisis or need immediate support, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time.

This episode includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to one of the resources above.

Learn more about Lines for Life at linesforlife.org. To get involved with Real Action for Kids, visit RealActionForKids.org.

Credits
Host and Executive Producer: Dean Wong
Producer: Katie Mecklenburg
Guest Coordinator: Kat Watanabe
Production Engineer and Editor: Vini Pimenta
Music: AM Brands
Recorded at Akakū: Maui Community Media
Produced by Imua Family Services

What happens when a community stops asking nicely? Find out when Episode 1 drops Monday, October 12, 2026.

Real Action for Kids: The Podcast is hosted by Dean Wong and produced by Imua Family Services on Maui. Each episode, Dean sits down with the people doing the real work for keiki and families: providers, educators, advocates, parents, and caregivers. A mission statement doesn’t raise a child. A person does.

We’ll talk about early intervention, family support, education, culture, and everything in between, with honest conversations about what’s working, what isn’t, and how we move forward together.

New episodes are coming soon. Follow the show so you never miss one, and send this trailer to someone who needs to hear these conversations.

Learn more and get involved at RealActionForKids.org.

Real action, for real kids.

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Credits
Host and Executive Producer: Dean Wong
Producer: Katie Mecklenburg
Guest Coordinator: Kat Watanabe
Production Engineer and Editor: Vini Pimenta
Music: AM Brands
Recorded at Akakū: Maui Community Media
Produced by Imua Family Services