In a divisive action that has led to a backlash around the country, the Trump administration has directed approval of an instruction to end the LGBTQ+ youth support option on the federally funded 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The move will impact one of the most endangered populations of users of the hotline, and many mental health advocates and LGBTQ + organizations strongly condemn this decision that was made during Pride Month.
Funding Cut and Closure Announcement
LGBTQ+ option, which enabled the young callers to press button 3 in order to talk to the counselor with the LGBTQ + training, will be abolished in the next 30 days, The Trevor Project, one of the major participants running the service, said. The regime withdrew funding to this particular aspect of the hotline on the basis of anti-radical gender ideology.
In 2024 alone, the Trevor Project recorded that it received more than 231,000 contacts related to a crisis using the LGBTQ + option in its service under the 988 Lifeline, which it had started rendering in the previous year (2022). Critics, including the company CEO Jaymes Black, denounced the action, saying that suicide prevention was not a political issue but a human one. He also strongly lamented the idea that a service that has served at-risk LGBTQ+ youth so well should be dismantled, characterizing the move as unfathomable.
A Targeted Shift in Policy
The current policy move is part of the more significant trend of regressions to LGBTQ+ rights and acknowledgement prevalent during the Trump presidential rule. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials referred to the LGBTQ+ support line as a “chat service” that supposedly recommended to children to develop gender identities consistent with parental permission. The trend portrayed by the administration is consistent with the broader discourse in discouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming because it propagates an ideology of bias.
Another strand has been the federal government pushing a message on traditional family units and gender as two-person distinctions. Other recent moves back this direction, such as the decision to eliminate gender-neutral solutions to American passports and the introduction of a highly strict man-woman targeting in federal papers.
Mental Health Advocates Sound the Alarm
Mental health professionals and advocacy organizations have voiced serious concerns about the consequences of eliminating the LGBTQ+ youth hotline option. Data consistently shows that LGBTQ+ youth—particularly transgender teens—are significantly more vulnerable to suicide, depression, and self-harm due to systemic discrimination, family rejection, and bullying.
Although the original legislation establishing the 988 Lifeline included a mandate to support at-risk groups like LGBTQ+ individuals, rural residents, and Native Americans, the recent decision effectively dismantles one of its core outreach mechanisms. Critics argue that eliminating targeted support under the guise of “serving everyone equally” ignores the real-world needs of those who are disproportionately impacted by mental health crises.
Timing and Political Symbolism
The timing of the decision has amplified the outrage. It coincided with Pride Month, a time dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ+ communities and advocating for equality. It also came just days before the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law banning gender transition care for minors, further intensifying the political and cultural tension around LGBTQ+ rights.
Supporters of the change argue that public mental health services should be neutral and free from ideological influence, but opponents say that failing to recognize the specific mental health needs of LGBTQ+ youth amounts to neglect and erasure.
What Comes Next
Despite the shutdown of the hotline option, The Trevor Project has pledged to continue offering its own services independently, including 24/7 crisis support via text, chat, and phone. However, advocates fear that many youth who relied on the easy accessibility of the 988 Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ option may now fall through the cracks.
