Trump Administration to Shut Down LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide Lifeline in 30 Days
Back in April, we told y’all the Trump administration was eyeing plans to defund a vital suicide lifeline for LGBTQ+ youth. Now, it’s official. As of July 17, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will no longer offer its LGBTQ-specific youth service line, known as the ‘Press 3 option.’
The announcement came Tuesday from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which said it would “no longer silo LGB+ youth services,” notably removing the ‘T’ from the acronym in its statement, in order to “focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option.” Let’s be clear: LGBTQ+ youth weren’t being ‘siloed.’ They were being seen. And now, they’re being dismissed.
The ‘Press 3’ option launched in 2022 through a government contract with the Trevor Project, offering a lifeline to LGBTQ+ people under 25 by connecting them to counselors trained to understand their specific experiences. Since then, it’s served more than 1.3 million young people in crisis, many of whom called in at their darkest hour.
Now, the Trump administration is scrapping it. SAMHSA insists that all callers will still receive “access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors,” but replacing a specialized, evidence-based program with a generic hotline isn’t progress, it’s erasure. LGBTQ+ young people are losing a service that was created for them, because they needed it.
Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black didn’t mince words, calling the move ‘devastating,’ and saying, “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics.” Black added, “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.”
And as if the timing wasn’t brutal enough, Black also pointed out the cruelty of dropping this news during Pride Month: “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.”
He urged Congress to reverse the decision and reassured queer youth directly: “I want every LGBTQ+ young person to know that you are worthy, you are loved, and you belong—despite this heartbreaking news. The Trevor Project’s crisis counselors are here for you 24/7, just as we always have been, to help you navigate anything you might be feeling right now.”
Meanwhile, the White House Office of Management and Budget responded by defending the move and distancing the administration from LGBTQ+-affirming care. A spokesperson claimed that while the budget includes $520 million in funding for the 988 Lifeline—the same amount as under President Biden—it “does not, however, grant taxpayer money to a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by ‘counselors’ without consent or knowledge of their parents.”
That statement says the quiet part out loud. It’s not just about cost or efficiency, it’s about ideology. And it fits into a much broader pattern. Since returning to office in January, Trump has signed multiple executive orders aimed at restricting transgender rights and dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion protections across the public and private sectors. The administration says this is about ‘restoring fairness,’ but we see it for what it is: a continued assault on the most vulnerable in our community.
We’re heartbroken by the news of this suicide lifeline shutting down, but we’re not surprised. And we’re certainly not giving up. Our LGBTQ+ youth—especially our trans siblings—deserve resources tailored to their needs, not hollow reassurances wrapped in political doublespeak.
If you or someone you know needs support, the Trevor Project is still here. You can reach them 24/7 at thetrevorproject.org or by texting START to 678-678.
You are not alone. Not now, not ever.
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Featured Image: Image Via Adobe Stock. Credit to Terovesalainen
