The Trump administration is moving to restart a specialized LGBTQ+ option for youth who contact the 988 suicide prevention hotline, but the nonprofit that helped pioneer the service may be excluded from operating it. The development marks a in what advocates call a chaotic chapter for crisis services targeting LGBTQ+ young people, who attempt suicide at higher rates than the general population.
The 988 Lifeline, often called the 911 for mental health emergencies, offers specialized options for certain groups including veterans and Spanish speakers. In July, the Trump administration discontinued the "press 3" option for LGBTQ+ youth with one month's notice, saying funding had run out. Congress subsequently directed officials to allocate $33 million toward LGBTQ+-specific interventions for youth, prompting the administration to work toward restoring the service by year's end.
What the Right Is Saying
A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson did not directly address The Trevor Project's eligibility but said the department is working with Vibrant Emotional Health to restore the service by year's end as directed by Congress. Dr. Christine Yu Moutier, chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said other crisis centers are providing high-quality care for LGBTQ+ youth and that it is too soon to say she is worried about the relaunch.
The administration has indicated its anti-transgender policies will influence how the program relaunches. This month, a SAMHSA leader wrote to Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi that the agency needed to assess the "most appropriate approach" to restart the service while complying with a Trump executive order targeting transgender rights and declaring there are only two sexes.
When canceling the "Press 3" option in July, federal officials said LGBTQ+ youth could still receive help through 988's general services but that it would no longer "silo" the population. The administration has argued this approach serves all help seekers, including LGBTQ+ youth, without separate designation.
What the Left Is Saying
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who has led a bipartisan push to restore the specialized services, said the Trump administration never should have shut down the option and called on officials to restore it "without needless limitations and with the most qualified, experienced people answering the phone calls and text messages from these vulnerable young people."
Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, said in a statement that excluding the organization would represent "a dangerous step toward degrading the clinical standards to serve high risk groups that the 'press 3' specialized services were founded on." The organization still independently operates its own 24-7 crisis line for LGBTQ+ young people but worries the relaunched service may exclude transgender and nonbinary youth entirely.
Progressive advocates argue that politics should not interfere with suicide prevention. "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 said.
What the Numbers Show
According to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the specialized LGBTQ+ service fielded 1.6 million contacts while in operation. The Trevor Project handled approximately half of that traffic through its counselors specially trained to work with LGBTQ+ young people who could reach services by pressing 3, texting "PRIDE," or using online chat.
A 2024 CDC analysis found 26% of transgender and gender-questioning students attempted suicide in the past year. That compares with 5% of cisgender male students and 11% of cisgender female students. The data underscores the disproportionate risk facing LGBTQ+ youth.
The six other crisis centers that worked on the LGBTQ+ youth program remain active in the 988 network and serve both general populations and LGBTQ+ people, though only The Trevor Project had a specific mission focused solely on LGBTQ+ youth.
The Bottom Line
Whether The Trevor Project will be allowed to participate in the relaunched service remains unresolved. Applications are limited to crisis centers that are "current and active" members of the 988 network, but The Trevor Project's inactive status stems directly from the administration canceling the very service it specialized in—a circular situation advocates find troubling.
How the program operates may matter as much as whether it returns. A SAMHSA leader has signaled that compliance with executive orders on gender identity could shape the service's parameters. Advocates and some mental health experts say LGBTQ+ young people, who often face marginalization and institutional distrust, need services designed specifically for them rather than general population approaches.
Congress directed $33 million toward these specialized interventions, indicating bipartisan support exists for maintaining dedicated LGBTQ+ youth crisis resources. What remains unclear is whether the relaunched service will include the organizations with the deepest expertise in serving this high-risk population.