The AP (6/18, Shastri ) reports the 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will no longer provide “tailored support options to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults on July 17, according to a statement on a federal agency’s website.” The action “preempts the Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal to cut funding for 988’s LGBTQ+ youth and young adult services, and is raising alarm bells among LGBTQ+ advocates.” SAMHSA said in a Tuesday statement on its website that the decision was made to “no longer silo” the services and “to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option.” Federal data indicate “the LGBTQ+ youth program has served nearly 1.3 million callers since it started in September 2022.”
Reuters (6/18) adds that the Trevor Project, “a non-profit that provides free, specialized support to LGBT youth, said on Wednesday that its hotline would soon close as a result of the funding not being renewed.” A spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget “said funding would continue for 988 Lifeline, a wider suicide prevention hotline.”
Related Links:
— “Trump administration removing 988 hotline service tailored to LGBTQ+ youth in July,” Devi Shastri, Associated Press, June 18, 2025