988 has been the number to call since 2022 to reach the suicide prevention hotline. Funded by the Federal Government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, SAMHSA staffers included counselors specifically trained to work with veterans and LGBQT+ youth.

The Trump administration defunded the service for LGBTQ+ youth counselors on July 17. However, the 988 suicide prevention line continues to be operational by calling 988 or texting TALK to 741741. Suicide is a permanent response to a situation that is usually transitional. CALL 988

In a statement, Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said that the funding for 988’s LGBTQ+ service had been passed through Congress with bipartisan support.

Why would Trump’s defunding specifically target LGBQT+ young people? Is our government believing that other agencies will supply the need? Or perhaps they feel it’s an issue that should be the responsibility of parents or school counselors or the church. Really? Are we to believe that this tremendous need is being met by mom and dad, or school employees or chuch pastors?

That has not been the experience of many young people. Those of us who knew that we were different did not have professional resources or community counselors or informed parents to talk to. Go for a walk in the woods and figure it out for yourself, they said. Or take your problem to Doctor Sawbones or Pastor Numbnuts.

No, as many of us know, a 988-hotline staffed by qualified counselors could have been instrumental in helping a troubled young person mature into the fully functional, well-adjusted individual which nature intended. Of course, most of us transitioned into adulthood successfully, although opportunities to be spectacular were often missed.

Professor Benjamin Miller wrote, “Just last year alone, approximately 40% of LGBTQ+ youth considered suicide,” he says, citing data from the most recent survey by The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth. “One in 10 had an attempt. And for those looking for help, only about half could get the help they need.”psychologist Benjamin Miller, adjunct professor at Stanford School of Medicine

 The Trevor Project

“This is devastating, to say the least,” Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, said in a statement. The Trevor Project is one of several nonprofits administering the services. “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.”

Funding for veterans’ suicide crisis lines has also been in Trump’s crosshairs. This is predictable behavior coming from a draft-dodger who never served in a position of service to his country and diminished on numerous occasions the service of those who did serve. Remember always Senator John McCain, Vietnam POW, and the killed-in-action patriots of World War Two? Trump’s uncharitable rhetoric is well documented.

The 988 LGBTQ+ Youth Access Act is a bipartisan initiative aimed at reinstating the specialized support services for LGBTQ+ youth on the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The act requires the Department of Health and Human Services to maintain these services and reserve at least 9 percent of 988 Lifeline funds each year to sustain and strengthen them. This legislation is co-led by Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi, Michael Lawler, Sharice Davids, and Seth Moulton, with Senators Tammy Baldwin and Lisa Murkowski introducing the companion legislation in the Senate. The act is a response to the urgent need for support among LGBTQ+ youth, who have already turned to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s ‘Press 3’ option, indicating the need for trained and affirming support. The bill aims to ensure that every young person in crisis receives a voice that is trained and equipped to save their life.