The Trump administration shut down a national suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth on July 17, despite a significant increase in calls since late last year and bipartisan warnings against nixing the program.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is within the Department of Health and Human Services, had announced on June 17 that the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which served individuals under the age of 25, would “no longer silo LGB+ youth services, also known as the “Press 3 option,” to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option.”
The omission of “T” is consistent with the Trump administration’s erasure of transgender individuals.
“Everyone who contacts the 988 Lifeline will continue to receive access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors who can help with suicidal, substance misuse, or mental health crises, or any other kind of emotional distress,” the statement noted. “Anyone who calls the Lifeline will continue to receive compassion and help.”
The end of the program was announced on July 17. SAMHSA’s own statistics show that while there were about 44,800 calls in May of last year, that number climbed north of 55,200 in September of 2024 and hit an all-time high by May of 2025, with more than 69,000 calls, according to NBC News.
On the same day the hotline was terminated, a bipartisan group of lawmakers — including Republican Mike Lawler of New York — hosted a press conference near the Capitol to urge the administration to keep the program going.
“I’m proud to join the bipartisan effort to maintain the 988 line service,” Lawler wrote in a post on X. “Since its launch in 2022, the LGBTQ+ specialized line within 988 has responded to more than 1.3 million calls, texts, and chats. That is more than 2,100 contacts every single day. Every one of those contacts represents a young person who decided to reach out, to live, to be heard, and to get help.”
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline launched in the summer of 2022, but a more specific lifeline for LGBTQ people was established in October of that year under a pilot program worth $29.7 million. The following year, the funding increased to $33 million.
SAMHSA’s statement noted that the “Press 3” option was created under a government agreement with a third party. According to NBC News, The Trevor Project was initially the only provider who administered the service, but a total of seven providers ultimately were part of 988’s LGBTQ Youth Subnetwork
“It’s hard to find the words today,” The Trevor Project’s CEO, Jaymes Black, said in a written statement. “Our country’s federal government — including the very agency in charge of protecting our mental health — cut a literal lifeline that has provided 1.5 million LGBTQ+ youth with suicide prevention services. It is unfathomable. This administration has made a dangerous decision to play politics with real young people’s lives. The 988 Lifeline’s Specialized Services Program was created to serve Americans at highest risk for suicide — including veterans and LGBTQ+ youth — with best-practice crisis care that meets these populations’ unique needs.”
Black added: “The program was created with overwhelming bipartisan support because, despite our political differences, we should all agree that every young person’s life is worth saving. I am heartbroken that this administration has decided to say, loudly and clearly, that they believe some young people’s lives are not worth saving.”
The Trevor Project emphasized that its own free and confidential crisis services will remain available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for any young LGBTQ individual in need of support. To access those services, call 1-866-488-7386 to speak by phone, visit thetrevorproject.org/get-help to chat online, or text START to 678678.
