Experts discuss mental health following possible termination of LGBTQ+ youth suicide lifeline
Kendall Flynn
THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Trevor Project received official notice June 17 of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration initiating the closure of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program.
The termination could be effective for July 17, 2025, if passed by Congress. The Trevor Project is one of seven centers that currently make up the LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork. The program allows callers to “press 3” or “rely PRIDE” to be connected with counselors trained specifically to assist LGBTQ+ contacts.
The service reports in 2024 it directly served more than 231,000 crisis contacts and previously, with the LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork, received up to $50 million in restricted federal funds for the lifeline services.
In the projects press release, CEO Jaymes Black said “This is devastating, to say the least. 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.”
Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from mental health experts from the Hazelden Betty Ford Center and The LGBTQ+ Center on the the impacts of this potential termination.