Trump administration ends LGBTQ youth suicide hotline, triggering outrage among advocates who warn the move strips vulnerable young people of crucial support. The decision has ignited intense debate over politics, mental health, and LGBTQ rights.
Trump Removes LGBTQ Hotline Option
The 988 suicide hotline’s LGBTQ youth option, known as “Press 3,” will soon end under Trump’s decision. The program launched in 2022 through a government contract with The Trevor Project. It allowed callers aged 25 and under to speak directly with trained counsellors who specialise in LGBTQ crises.
The administration claims it will “no longer silo LGB+ youth services” and instead “focus on serving all help seekers.” Significantly, the “T” for transgender individuals was removed from the announcement.
Despite the change, SAMHSA assured that callers will still receive assistance via the general 988 Lifeline. “Everyone who contacts the 988 Lifeline will continue to receive access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counsellors who can help with suicidal, substance misuse, or mental health crises, or any other kind of emotional distress,” the agency stated.
Advocates Call Decision Devastating
The Trevor Project, a leading suicide prevention group for LGBTQ youth, sharply condemned the move. CEO Jaymes Black called the decision “devastating,” stressing, “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics.” According to Black, the program has offered lifesaving support to over 1.3 million LGBTQ young people.
“The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible. The fact that this news comes to us halfway through Pride Month is callous, as is the administration’s choice to remove the ‘T’ from the acronym ‘LGBTQ+’ in their announcement. Transgender people can never, and will never, be erased,” Black said.
Meanwhile, Rachel Cauley from the White House Office of Management and Budget defended the budget cut. She argued that taxpayer money should not fund “a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by ‘counsellors’ without consent or knowledge of their parents.”
Despite the setback, Black urged Congress to reverse the decision. He reassured young people, stating, “You are worthy, you are loved, and you belong.”