Trump eliminates support for LGBT+ youth

The US National Suicide, Crisis and Lifeline will no longer offer personalized support options to LGBT+ youth and young adults on July 17, the federal agency responsible for the service announced.

The decision comes ahead of the Trump administration's 2026 budget proposal to cut funding for LGBT+ youth and young adult services from the 988-strong US hotline, and is raising alarm bells among LGBT+ advocates during Pride Month.

Federal data shows the LGBT+ youth program has answered nearly 1.3 million calls since it began in September 2022. Services were accessible by “Press 3” on the phone or by replying “PRIDE” via text.

The decision was made to “no longer silo” services and “focus on serving all those seeking help, including those previously served through the Press 3 option,” the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement dated Tuesday on its official website.

News of the LGBT+ service's closure comes as the US Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban on providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors on Wednesday.

The Trevor Project said it received official notification on Tuesday that the program was ending. The nonprofit is one of seven centers that provide 988 crisis support services to LGBT+ people and serves nearly half of the people who contact the helpline.

“Suicide prevention is about people, not politics,” said Jaymes Black, executive director of The Trevor Project, in a statement Wednesday. “The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a group of high-risk youth through their darkest hours is incomprehensible.”

In its statement on the 988 helpline decision, SAMHSA referred to “services for LGB+ youth.”

Black considered the omission of the “T” that represents transgender people “insensitive”.

“Transgender people can never be, and will never be, erased,” he said.

The Trevor Project will continue to provide its mental health support services 24/7, as will other organizations, and 988 leaders say the hotline will serve anyone who calls with compassion.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were 49,300 suicides in 2023 — roughly the highest level in the country's history, based on preliminary data.

Studies have shown that LGBT+ youth are at higher risk of suicide, including a 2024 CDC analysis that found that 26% of transgender and gender-nonconforming students attempted suicide in the past year. This compares with 5% of cisgender male students and 11% of cisgender female students.

Transgender youth have flooded crisis hotlines with calls following President Donald Trump's reelection.

Trump put anti-transgender issues at the center of his campaign and has since rolled back many civil rights protections and access to gender-affirming health care.

The specific subprogram of line 988 for LGBT+ youth cost 33 million dollars (about 28.7 million euros) in fiscal year 2024, according to SAMHSA, and by June 2025, more than 33 million had been invested in the services.

The Trump administration's 2026 budget proposal called for keeping the total budget for line item 988 at $520 million, even while eliminating LGBT+ services, keeping the same budget amount while eliminating LGBT+ services.