Trump Administration shutting down LGBTQ youth suicide hotline by July. Move called 'incomprehensible' and 'wrong.'

When running for president in 2016, Trump pretended to be an LGBTQ ally. When he was elected, he continued the pretense even as his administration tried to curtail our rights and safety. With moves such as shutting down an LGBTQ youth suicide hotline, Trump has obviously abandoned his pro-LGBTQ subterfuge in his second term.

It's no secret that Trump is no longer pretending to support or even like the LGBTQ community this time like he did during his first time (even as his administration tried to pushed ordinances and legislation which would have jeopardizes our equality and health.)

This time around, the Trump's administration has practically declared open war on transgender Americans with executive orders designed to reduce their rights and create a climate of fear.

And now the administration's animus is targeting our LGBTQ kids.

From The Huffington Post:

President Donald Trump’s administration is shutting down the national suicide prevention hotline’s LGBTQ youth-specific care starting on July 17. “On July 17, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will no longer silo LGB+ youth services, also known as the ‘Press 3 option,’ to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option,” a news release from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, reads. 

 The suicide hotline added the Press 3 option in 2022 in a contract with the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention nonprofit for LGBTQ+ youth. People could call the suicide hotline at 988 and then press 3 to be directed to a trained counselor who would help people who identify as LGBTQ+. SAMHSA, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a news release that anyone who contacts 988 will continue to receive “compassion and help.”

 From Politico: 

 “This is devastating, to say the least,” Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black said in a statement Wednesday. “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics. The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.”

 “The fact that this news comes to us halfway through Pride Month is callous — as is the administration’s choice to remove the ‘T’ from the acronym ‘LGBTQ+’ in their announcement. Transgender people can never, and will never, be erased,” Black said. 

 A 2024 survey from the Trevor Project found that nearly 40 percent of LGBTQ+ young people had “seriously considered” suicide in the past year. And half of the survey’s respondents who reported wanting mental health care in the previous year had not been able to access it. The LGBTQ+ hotline has received roughly 1.3 million calls since its pilot program in 2022.   

The decision to cut off this hotline has already gotten bipartisan opposition. In addition to LGBTQ organizations and many LGBTQ Americans and their allies, Republican Congressman Mike Lawler (NY) said:

 “This is wrong. According to studies, LGBTQ+ young people have an elevated risk of suicide and are more likely than their peers to attempt it. We should ensure they have the resources necessary to get help,” Lawler said in a post on social platform X.

 “The 988 hotline has been a lifesaver. This decision should be reversed,” he added.