Trump administration ends 988 Lifeline's special service for LGBTQ+ young people; NPR, July 19, 2025

Rhitu Chatterjee , NPR; Trump administration ends 988 Lifeline's special service for LGBTQ+ young people

[Kip Currier: Like the suspension of PEPFAR medicines for HIV prevention throughout the Global South and the dismantling of USAID, terminating Lifeline's specialized services for at risk LGBTQ+ youth is another deeply cruel and indifferent policy decision by the Trump 2.0 administration that will result in losses of life. One has to wonder about the moral character of the individuals who are making these decisions.

California has introduced measures to provide these life-saving services for LGBTQ+ young persons, as reported in a July 16, 2025 press release:

Just weeks after the Trump administration announced that they would eliminate specialized suicide prevention support for LGBTQ youth callers through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, California is taking action to improve behavioral health services and provide even more affirming and inclusive care. Through a new partnership with The Trevor Project, Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) will provide the state’s 988 crisis counselors enhanced competency training from experts, ensuring better attunement to the needs of LGBTQ youth, on top of the specific training they already receive.]

Where are the voices of, for example, Big Tech gay billionaires like Apple CEO Tim Cook, Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, and OpenAI co-founder/CEO Sam Altman -- who are privileged and blessed to be in positions of leadership and influence -- to speak out against policy decisions like this? Or step up to the plate and donate a fraction of their wealth to support services like Lifeline?]

[Excerpt]

"The nation's Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988, shuttered the specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth this week. The move came a day after the Lifeline marked three years since its launch. During this period, it has fielded more than 16 million calls, texts and chats. Nearly 10% of those contacts have been from gay and transgender young people, according to government data.

"This is a tragic moment," says Mark Henson, vice president of government affairs and advocacy at The Trevor Project, one of several organizations that had contracts with the federal government to provide counseling services for this vulnerable population. The Trevor Project fields about half the LGBTQ+ contacts.

Data from the Youth Behavior Risk Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness compared to their peers, and more likely to attempt suicide.

When these young people contact 988, they have had the option to press 3 to be connected to a counselor specifically trained to support their unique mental health needs, which are associated with discrimination and violence they often face. This service is similar to what 988 offers to veterans, who are also at a higher risk of suicide, and can access support tailored for them by pressing 1 when they contact 988. That service will be retained as 988 enters its fourth year.

"Many LGBTQ+ youth who use these services didn't know they existed until they called 988 and found out there is someone on the other end of the line that knows what they've gone through and cares deeply for them," says Henson.

Government data show that demand for this service grew steadily since it launched, from about 2,000 contacts per month in September 2022 to nearly 70,000 in recent months."