Crisis Lifeline Eliminates Specialized Services Option For LGBTQ+ Youth

On July 17, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) stated that it will no longer silo LGBTQ+ youth services, also known as the “Press 3 option,” of the nation's Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988. The hotline, established three years ago, offered specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth.

"The Press 3 option was established as a pilot program in Fiscal Year 2022 under a government agreement with a third party," a press release by SAMHSA stated. "As of June 2025, more than $33 million in funds have been spent to support the subnetworks, fully expending the monies allocated for 988 Lifeline LGB+ subnetwork services." 

The lifeline “has fielded more than 16 million calls, texts and chats,” NPR’s Rhitu Chatterjee reported on July 19. “Nearly 10 percent of those contacts have been from gay and transgender young people, according to government data.”

Furthermore, Chatterjee wrote, “Data from the Youth Behavior Risk Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 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.”

“Our country’s federal government — including the very agency in charge of protecting our mental health — cut a literal lifeline that has provided 1.5 million LGBTQ+ youth with suicide prevention services. It is unfathomable,” The Trevor Project’s CEO, Jaymes Black, said in a statement. “The 988 Lifeline’s Specialized Services Program was created to serve Americans at highest risk for suicide — including veterans and LGBTQ+ youth — with best-practice crisis care that meets these populations’ unique needs. The program was created with overwhelming bipartisan support because, despite our political differences, we should all agree that every young person’s life is worth saving.”

Last week, Brooke Migdon wrote for The Hill that “A flurry of executive orders and policies enacted since Trump’s return to office in January directly target LGBTQ Americans, particularly those who are transgender. An order Trump signed on Jan. 20, his first day back, proclaims that the U.S. recognizes only two unchangeable sexes, male and female.”

SAMHSA made it clear that the 988 lifeline operations will continue. According to an HHS spokesperson, "The 988 Lifeline will continue to be a direct connection to immediate support for all Americans, regardless of their circumstances. It is a resource for anyone in crisis. That has not changed."