In the premiere of I Am Cait, Caitlyn Jenner makes it clear that she’s on a mission to help others who are struggling with their identity.
Although the episode features fun moments with the family — a loopy Kylie Jenner FaceTimes with Caitlyn after having dental work done, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West stop by and discuss fashion — the message of support for transgender youth is strong, and frequently repeated.
Multiple times throughout the first hour of the eight-part series, Jenner speaks about the elevated suicide and murder rates within the transgender community, even watching a news report about a San Diego teen who killed himself.
Kyler Prescott‘s story affected Caitlyn so much that she headed down to San Diego — in three different cars, so as to evade the paparazzi — to meet with Kyler’s family and friends.
Prescott was 14 when he committed suicide in May of 2015, and his mom opened up to Caitlyn about her son’s struggle with his identity. The Prescott family was supportive of Kyler, regularly visiting support groups, and were active in the transgender community. But Katharine Prescott said even their support couldn’t vanquish the hate Kyler felt from others. It wasn’t other kids who were intolerant of Kyler, though — it was adults who wouldn’t accept him or even call him by the correct pronoun.
After the heartwrenching discussion — during which Katharine played Caitlyn a song her friends had written and dedicated to trans teens — they all met up with some of Kyler’s friends and released balloons in his honor.
Caitlyn ends the episode with a message to anyone in the trans community who is struggling, but especially teens: “Seek help,” she says. “You just have to get through that day.”
I Am Cait premieres Sunday, July 26, at 8 p.m. ET on E!.
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