LGBTQ+ organisations have described the defunding of the suicide prevention service as “devastating” as Trump’s administration plans to close helpline within 30 days
The Trump administration is set to shut down a US national suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ young people in funding cuts. American non-profit suicide prevention organisation, The Trevor Project has described scrapping the the helpline as “devastating”, but the administration has cited the service as “radical gender ideology”.
The suicide prevention service in place for LGBTQ young people says it will soon close, but a 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will remain active with an option for LGBTQ youths available. The service has reassured that anyone calling will be treated with “compassion” and helped, but the hotline cuts to specific LGBTQ people has raised concerns for many.
The Trevor Project has helped to run the LGBTQ+ helpline option, and the organisation has said the recent decision will be harmful, impacting vulnerable young people the most.
Chief executive of The Trevor Project, Jaymes Black said “suicide prevention is about people, not politics” and expressed concern at the announcement that the LGBTQ suicide prevention hotline will close down in 30 days time.
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Mr Black said: “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 funding cuts to the service in place for this ‘high risk’ group coincides with international Pride Month, where LGBTQ lifestyle and history is celebrated across the world. Cities across the globe feature Pride processions and events honouring LGBTQ culture in society.
The news of axing the service also came in ahead of a US Supreme Court decision on June 17 concerning minors who identify as transgender. The state of Tennessee upheld a ban on healthcare help when transitioning.
The general 988 Lifeline will still offer a helpline for anyone who is struggling with mental health. It provides free mental health support via call, texts, or a chat service. The 988 Lifeline is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in America.
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Any LGBTQ young people calling through currently can select option 3 from the menu to connect with specialised counsellors. Once the changes occur (in 30 days time) the general 988 Lifeline service will instead “focus on serving all help seekers”, including LGBTQ young people.
However, when the changes are in place, the hotline will no longer have a separate helpline for LGBTQ youth services. Officials from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed the cuts to the 988 Lifeline’s LGBTQ youth services in June 2025.
Speaking to NBC News at the time, a HHS spokesperson said the specialised LGBTQ+ option was a “chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by ‘counsellors’ without consent or knowledge of their parents”.
LGBTQ youth are “more than four times more likely to contemplate suicide than their peers, with 1 in 5 LGBTQ youth and more than 1 in 3 transgender youth reporting attempting suicide” reports suggest. But the helpline cuts come amid Trump’s push to curtail other services specifically for transgender people across the government.
Trump recently ordered the removal of transgender service people from the US military – and issued an executive order. The order being that the American government would only recognise males and females as ‘two sexes’ in society.
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