The Trump administration is planning to restart the specialized LGBTQ+ option for youth contacting the 988 crisis intervention hotline, though the group that pioneered the idea may be excluded from the process, reports BritPanorama.
The Trevor Project, a leading nonprofit focused on suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth, might not be permitted to offer the services it helped develop for the 988 Lifeline a few years ago. The 988 hotline, referred to as the “911 for mental health emergencies,” is credited with reducing teen and young adult suicide deaths. It provides targeted options for various groups, including veterans and Spanish speakers. However, in July, the Trump administration discontinued the “press 3” option for LGBTQ+ youth with only a month’s notice.
Officials from the administration cited the depletion of funding as the reason for ending the service. Currently, they aim to reinstate it by the year’s end, following a directive from Congress to allocate $33 million towards LGBTQ+-specific interventions for youth.
Despite this effort, The Trevor Project’s exclusion from the renewal process raises significant concerns. Dr. Christine Yu Moutier, chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, stated that it “would not make sense” to exclude The Trevor Project from offering its skilled services, highlighting its status as a “long-standing, high-quality and trusted resource” for LGBTQ+ individuals.
The Trevor Project handled the bulk of 988’s LGBTQ+ youth services
The Lifeline’s special service allowed users to press “3,” text “PRIDE,” or utilize online chat to connect with counselors trained specifically to assist LGBTQ+ youth. The overall “Press 3” service registered 1.6 million contacts while operational, with The Trevor Project handling approximately half of this traffic.
Upon the cancellation of the “Press 3” option, federal officials maintained that LGBTQ+ youth could still access aid through the hotline’s general services. However, they asserted that such services would not be specifically segregated, aiming to achieve broader service provision.
The relaunch of ‘Press 3’ may not include The Trevor Project
The nonprofit managing the 988 service, Vibrant Emotional Health, is requesting applications to oversee the comeback of the “Press 3” lines. Nonetheless, eligibility is limited to crisis centres that are “current and active” members of the 988 network, a status that The Trevor Project has lost due to the cancellation of its specialized services.
The six other crisis centers involved in the LGBTQ+ youth program remain active within the 988 network and cater to both the general population and LGBTQ+ individuals. Only The Trevor Project had a mission specifically designed to help LGBTQ+ youth.
Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, expressed concern, stating, “This troubling development indicates a dangerous step toward degrading the clinical standards to serve high-risk groups that the ‘press 3’ specialized services were founded on.” A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Human Services did not directly address inquiries regarding The Trevor Project’s eligibility but noted ongoing efforts to restore the service as mandated by Congress.
Moutier acknowledged that other crisis centres provide high-quality care for LGBTQ+ youth, emphasizing the importance of establishing “psychological safety” for marginalized individuals who often distrust institutional support. She indicated that while it is premature to express concern about the relaunch, the method of restoration is equally important.
“I think there’s the potential for great good, and some harm as well,” she remarked.
Concerns shroud relaunch of the ‘Press 3’ option
Even with the service’s potential restoration, operational details remain uncertain, raising alarms among LGBTQ+ advocates, particularly given the Trump administration’s propensity to enforce anti-transgender policies that could affect the program’s structure.
This month, a SAMHSA leader communicated to Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi that the agency must determine the best strategy to restart the service while adhering to a Trump executive order targeting transgender rights, asserting a notion of “gender ideology extremism” as a risk to women.
Black raised alarms about the possibility that the upcoming version of the 988 services for LGBTQ+ youth “may exclude transgender and nonbinary youth entirely.” The organization continues to operate its own 24/7 crisis line for LGBTQ+ young people.
Research indicates that LGBTQ+ youth are at a heightened risk of suicide, as indicated by a 2024 CDC analysis revealing that 26% of transgender and gender-questioning students had attempted suicide in the previous year, contrasting with 5% of cisgender male and 11% of cisgender female students.
“While anti-LGBTQ+ politics may be altering the very purpose of this lifeline created to help save young LGBTQ+ lives, it is critical to make clear that politics has no place in suicide prevention,” Black concluded.
