LGBTQ youth suicide hotline to close
Lauren Bly
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)– On Tuesday, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced its ending the national suicide hotline’s specialized support for LGBTQ+ youth 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,” SAMHSA said in the press release
According to federal data — more than 14-and-a-half million people have contacted the 9-8-8 lifeline over three years’ time.
Nearly one-point-three million calls or texts were routed to LGBTQ+ line.
It’s just putting more and more pressure on organizations who just don’t necessarily have the capacity to to be able to handle the influx of calls and the influx of issues that are happening.
ABC-7 spoke to the Executive Director of the Borderland Rainbow Center, Amber Perez. She told us local organizations are already spread thin, and resources are dwindling.
“It’s just putting more and more pressure on organizations who just don’t necessarily have the capacity to to be able to handle the influx of calls and the influx of issues that are happening,” said Perez.
Created soon after the national launch of 988 in 2022, the extra option offers specialized support for the LGBTQ+ youth community.
Callers can press three to connect them with trained counselors.
“It’s a place for them to reach out to, to get help, and to hopefully come back from that, that cliff,” Perez told ABC-7.
Perez sys the consequences of this decision will be devastating.
“We are going to see an uptick in, unfortunately, attempts on suicide, probably self-harm. Major issues with depression. I’m more than sure.” She says especially in a community like El Paso.
“In El Paso, that means that a lot of our local queer youth who probably come from homes that are very, very staunchly Catholic or religious, as we tend to be here in the borderland, won’t have somebody to call at 2:00 in the morning because these hotlines, that’s what they’re for.”
She wants those out there to know if you see someone struggling don’t stay silent.
“The most important thing is to validate them, right, is to talk to them and say, hey, I see you.”