This piece was originally published on 19 and appears here with permission.
Last year during Pride month, nearly 70,000 youthful LGBTQ+ people turned to 988, the national suicide and crisis hotline, for specialized support.
This was the last time they managed to do this.
Today marks one year since the shutdown of LGBTQ+ youth services on the 988 hotline. The Trump administration says it is working to restore “Option 3” — the line’s previous place on the menu — by the end of 2026, but that timeline is not guaranteed.
According to SAMHSA, the LGBTQ+ “Option 3” line has been discontinued because federal funding for the service has dried up. However, a few months ago, Congress approved $33 million to restore federal services for LGBTQ+ youth, including this one. Republicans and Democrats are calling on the Trump administration to restore this line now, not before the end of the year.
“Saving lives should not be a partisan issue,” Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said at a news conference earlier this week. “The 988 is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is built with specialized options for those at higher risk.”
LGBTQ+ youth are much more likely to attempt suicide and become depressed than other youthful adults. Many of them are rejected by their families or face additional discrimination and bullying. They can only feel unthreatening talking to someone they know will understand their LGBTQ+ identity; that’s why specialized resources are so vital.
There are other sources of information, such as the National LGBT Hotline at 888-843-4564 and the National LGBT Youth Hotline at 800-246-7743. There is also a Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860. There is still a file on the 988 website resources page also for LGBTQ+ people and allies.
IN answer members of Congress, SAMHSA cites White House policy as a complicating factor in restoring the “Option 3” line. Executive Order 14168, released on the first day President Donald Trump’s second term rejects transgender identity and directs federal agencies to stick to that belief.
As a result, the agency is trying to restore services to LGBTQ+ youth while also complying with a White House order excluding transgender people from federal policy.
The Trevor Project, the leading LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention organization that co-piloted the launch of the original 988 “Option 3,” is deeply concerned about this situation.
“If these services do not include transgender youth, who are among the highest suicide risk groups in the country, even higher than all LGBTQ+ youth, then they are not specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth, period,” said Mark Henson, vice president of advocacy and government affairs at the Trevor Project.
The group has its own crisis hotline: Call 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 678-678.
SAMHSA is working with Vibrant Emotional Health, administrator of the 988 network, to resume specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth by the end of the year, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said in an email. They offered no further comment.
While specialist services will eventually return, they may not be the same as before. Project Trevor was excluded from the reconstruction process, even though the group was carrying approximately half of all traffic by the time “Option 3” was closed.
And there was a lot of traffic. According to SAMHSA, more than 1.5 million people have used the 988 service for LGBTQ+ youth and youthful adults in its three years of operation. Year by year, more and more people applied for support. This escalation shows the urgent need for LGBTQ+ mental health services, Henson said.
“The mental health crisis among LGBTQ+ youth in the country continues to worsen,” he said; and politics makes the situation worse. Anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and transgender rights debates across the country are causing concern among youthful people tests by Trevor Project programs.
The president and his administration are also a recurring source of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. This often translates into a crisis among LGBTQ+ youth: when it was announced that Trump would run for president in 2024, the Trevor Project disappeared overnight. An raise of 700 percent in calls, text messages and chats on own hotlines compared to previous weeks.
The Trevor Project has applied to provide services under the reinstated ‘Option 3’ but has not yet received confirmation as to whether it will be eligible. The problem is that the organization is no longer a member of the 988 network the Trump administration shut down its LGBTQ+ “Option 3” line last year.
Regardless, Henson said, their experts are ready to support. 🔥
