During Pride month last year, almost 70,000 LGBTQ+ young people sought specialized help from 988, the national suicide and crisis hotline.
That was the last time they were able to do so.
As of today, it’s been a year since the 988 hotline’s LGBTQ+ youth services shut down. The Trump administration says it is working to bring back “Option 3″ — the line’s former place in the menu — by the end of 2026, but that timeline is not guaranteed.
The “Option 3” LGBTQ+ line was discontinued because federal funding for the service ran out, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. But Congress approved $33 million to reinstate federal services for LGBTQ+ youth, including this one, months ago. Republicans and Democrats are calling for the Trump administration to restore the line now — not by the end of the year.
“Saving lives should not be a partisan issue,” Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat, said at a press conference earlier this week. “988 is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It was built with specialized options for people more at risk.”
LGBTQ+ youth are significantly more likely to attempt suicide and have depression than other young adults. Many are rejected by their families or experience additional discrimination and bullying. They may only feel safe talking with someone they know will understand their LGBTQ+ identity; that’s why specialized resources matter.
There are still other resources, like the LGBT National Hotline at 888-843-4564 and the LGBT National Youth Talkline at 800-246-7743. There’s also the Trans Lifeline, reachable at 877-565-8860. The 988 website still has a resource page for LGBTQ+ people and allies, too.
In response to members of Congress, SAMHSA cites White House policy as a complicating factor in restoring the “Option 3” line. Executive order 14168, issued on the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term, rejects transgender identity and directs federal agencies to fall in line with that belief.
So the agency is trying to reinstate a service for LGBTQ+ youth while still complying with a White House order excluding transgender people from federal policy.
The Trevor Project, a leading LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention organization that co-piloted the original 988 “Option 3” launch, is deeply concerned about that.
“If these services do not include transgender youth, which is one of the groups at highest risk for suicide in the country, even higher than overall LGBTQ+ youth, then these are not LGBTQ+ youth specialized services, full stop,” said Mark Henson, vice president of advocacy and government affairs at the Trevor Project.
The group has its own crisis hotline: call 1-866-488-7386 or text ‘START’ to 678-678.
SAMHSA is working with Vibrant Emotional Health, the 988 network administrator, to resume specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth by the end of the year, a spokesperson with the Health and Human Services Department said over email. They offered no further comment.
Although specialized service will return eventually, it may not be the same as before. The Trevor Project has been shut out of the rebuilding process, despite the fact that by the time “Option 3” was shut down, the group was handling roughly half of all traffic.
And there was a lot of traffic. Over 1.5 million people used the 988 service for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults during the three years it was active, according to data from SAMHSA. Year after year, more people reached out for help. That escalation shows the dire need for LGBTQ+ mental health services, Henson said.
“The mental health crisis among LGBTQ+ youth in the country is continuing to worsen,” he said; and politics is making it worse. Anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and debates over transgender rights across the country are causing anxiety among young people, research by the Trevor Project shows.
The president and his administration are also a recurrent source of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. That often translates into crisis among LGBTQ+ youth: when the 2024 presidential race was called for Trump, the Trevor Project saw an overnight 700 percent increase in calls, texts and chats on its own hotlines, compared to prior weeks.
The Trevor Project has applied to provide services for the restored “Option 3,” but has not yet gotten confirmation if it will be eligible to do so. The problem is that the organization is not a current member of the 988 network after the Trump administration shut down the “Option 3” LGBTQ+ line last year.
Regardless, Henson said, their experts are ready to help.
