SAMHSA stated it will “no longer silo LGB+ youth services” and will “focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option.”
The Trump administration will terminate the LGBTQ youth line of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on July 17, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
The “Press 3” option, launched in 2022 in partnership with the Trevor Project, connects LGBTQ youth to trained counselors.
SAMHSA stated it will “no longer silo LGB+ youth services” and will “focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option.” Notably, the “T” for transgender was dropped from the agency’s language.
Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black criticized the move as “devastating,” stating, “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics.” He added, “Transgender people can never, and will never, be erased.”
The Trevor Project has served over 1.3 million LGBTQ youth and vows to continue operating. “You are worthy, you are loved, and you belong,” Black said.
The proposed 2026 federal budget eliminates funding for the service. White House spokesperson Rachel Cauley said taxpayer money shouldn’t fund “a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology… without consent or knowledge of their parents.”