Trump Administration cuts specialized LGBTQ+ suicide prevention services

In a move that has sparked national outcry, the Trump administration has announced it will discontinue specialized suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth on the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline—services that were co-designed and championed by Utah lawmakers.

Set to end July 17, the LGBTQ+ youth pilot program within 988 was launched in 2022 to address the disproportionately high suicide risk facing LGBTQ+ young people. Since its inception, the service has logged nearly 1.3 million calls, texts, and chats.

Mental health advocates say the loss of these dedicated crisis counselors, many with lived LGBTQ+ experience, could have devastating consequences. “These services save lives,” said Hannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The move hits close to home in Utah, where the original idea for a national mental health crisis line was born. Utah State Senator Daniel Thatcher, then a Republican and longtime mental health advocate, first introduced the concept of a three-digit crisis line after a desperate call from a father whose suicidal son was turned away from an ER. “That experience started my push to increase mental health awareness and resource accessibility in Utah,” Thatcher said in a public reflection on the effort.

After early setbacks, Thatcher worked with the late Senator Orrin Hatch and former Utah Congressman Chris Stewart, also Republicans, to elevate the idea to the national level. The bipartisan push helped usher in the creation of 988, which officially launched nationwide on July 16, 2022.

“This isn’t just policy, it’s personal,” Thatcher once said. “As a survivor of chronic depression and suicide ideation, I know firsthand that when people get help, they live.”

LGBTQ+ youth advocates say the administration’s decision undermines that mission. Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, one of the nonprofits administering the LGBTQ+ crisis line, called the decision “devastating” and “incomprehensible.”

SAMHSA, the federal agency overseeing 988, said in a statement that LGBTQ+ youth will still have access to “culturally competent” counselors, but it will no longer offer services tailored specifically for them.

Dr. Benjamin Miller of Stanford University warned the rollback sends a dangerous message: “That message is more like, you’re on your own.”

Advocates are urging youth in crisis to continue reaching out for help through The Trevor Project (1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 678-678), as well as through the general 988 line, even as specialized services disappear.