Trump Administration Shuts Down LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide Lifeline

In yet another callous blow to the LGBTQ+ community, the Trump administration has decided to shut down a national suicide prevention hotline dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth.

On Tuesday, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that it will shut down the LGBTQ+ Youth Specialised Services programme, which forms part of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, within 30 days.

SAMHSA claimed it would “no longer silo LGB+ youth services” and would instead “focus on serving all help seekers…”.

White House Defends Move

A White House spokesperson told Reuters that the administration will continue funding the general suicide prevention helpline but will no longer support the LGBTQ-specific service.

The spokesperson stated that taxpayers will not fund “a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by ‘counsellors’ without consent or knowledge of their parents.”

The specialised LGBTQ+ support service, which was launched in 2022, has helped more than 1.3 million young people in crisis. Research shows that LGBTQ youth are more than four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual and cisgender peers.

Trevor Project Slams “Devastating” Decision

Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project—America’s leading LGBTQ suicide prevention organisation and one of the main service providers for the helpline—condemned the decision.

“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,” said Black.

He added: “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.”

Politicians and Celebrities Speak Out

California Governor Gavin Newsom also slammed the move, writing on X: “Cutting specialised suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth — during Pride Month, no less — is disgusting.”

Earlier this month, more than 100 celebrities from across the entertainment industry signed an open letter calling for the continued funding of the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth service.

Although The Trevor Project’s independent suicide prevention helpline will continue to operate, including via chat, the non-profit is set to lose around $25 million due to the federal funding cut.