Trump Administration Puts LGBTQ Teens at Greater Suicide Risk
The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide prevention organization, worries that cutting the hotline's LGBTQ support services will leave youth at risk.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is planning to cut services for LGBTQ youth who call the national 988 suicide prevention and crisis lifeline.
According to a copy of the 2026 HHS Budget for mental health, the Trump administration will keep $10 million for specialized services for Spanish speakers who contact the hotline through text or chats but will eliminate “the 2024 congressionally-directed set-aside within the 988 for Specialized Services for LGBTQ+ Youth.”
The leaked budget draft previews the Trump administration’s plans to reduce health-related spending and reorganize health agencies as part of a larger consolidation effort.
If the proposed budget is enacted, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth specialized services could be defunded as soon as October.
Since the hotline’s launch in 2022, callers have been able to speak with counselors trained to work with specific at-risk populations, including LGBTQ youth.
When they dial 988, they are given the option to press “3” to reach counselors trained in LGBTQ cultural competency.
According to Mother Jones, the service for LGBTQ youth has received 1.3 million calls, texts, or chats since 2022.
In February, the program received an average of 2,100 contacts per day.
The Trevor Project, the nation’s top suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth — which handles nearly half of the specialized services’ contact volume as one of seven subcontractors dealing with LGBTQ-related contacts — has decried the potential loss of LGBTQ services.
Advocates have argued that counselors trained in LGBTQ cultural competency are important because they are best positioned to connect with youth in distress, trained in using appropriate pronouns, and keenly attuned to the specific challenges that LGBTQ youth may face.
Additionally, political developments, including the Trump administration’s attempts to ban transgender individuals from the military, cut off access to gender-affirming care, and threaten to prosecute teachers who support nonbinary students, may exacerbate youths’ feelings of loneliness or despondency.
“I worry deeply that we will see more LGBTQ young people reach a crisis state and not have anyone there to help them through that,” Janson Wu, the director of advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project, told Mother Jones.
“I worry that LGBTQ young people will reach out to 988 and not receive a compassionate and welcoming voice on the other end — and that will only deepen their crisis.”
According to a 2022 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 10-to-14-year-olds and 25-to-34-year-olds and the third-leading cause of death among 15-to-24-year-olds.
According to The Trevor Project, LGBTQ young people are four times more likely to attempt suicide compared with their straight and cisgender peers.
“Suicide prevention is about risk, not identity,” Jaymes Black, the CEO of The Trevor Project, said in a statement. “Ending the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth specialized services will not just strip away access from millions of LGBTQ+ kids and teens – it will put their lives at risk.”
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.