While research shows that many LGBTQ+ youth are battling mental health crises, a major lifeline to help them has gone silent.
The Trump administration discontinued the LGBTQ+- youth specific “Press 3” option within the U.S 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on July 17, a move that many mental health advocates note is already causing a dangerous domino effect for queer youth, and the people working to help them.
“This is outrageous,” said Brad Becker, founder and president of LGBT National Help Center. “The folks that call 988 are obviously, by definition, in crisis. When LGBT folks call, it’s extremely helpful to have someone that they can speak to who has a personal understanding of what it’s like to be a member of the community.”
Since 2022, “Press 3” has provided LGBTQ+ youth, under the age of 25, with crisis counselors trained specifically to address queer challenges, particularly as LGBTQ+ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their cisgender, heterosexual peers, according to The Trevor Project.
Further, The Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People reported that 39% of LGBTQ+ youth have seriously considered attempting suicide in 2024.
Local LGBTQ+ advocates say that the shutdown of the “Press 3” option does more than limit access to crisis support, it sends the message that queer youth struggles are invisible. They warn that the loss of affirming resources can deepen isolation and reinforce the feeling that safe spaces are disappearing.
“If anything, this line going away is just a continued erasure and acknowledgement of the queer community across the board, but specifically for youth,” says Erin Whelan, executive director of the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), headquartered in Southeast D.C. “[The youth] are already feeling like they have to strive for places in this world and acknowledgement.”
Advocates note that without counselors who understand their experiences, many queer youth will feel isolated.
“At the end of the day, the story is—[LGBTQ+] youth won’t get the services they need,” Whelan told The Informer. “They’re not going to be affirmed and they might not seek services out because of that.”
Despite queer youth facing continued challenges, a spokesperson for the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that the dedicated LGBTQ+ line was closed due to a lack of continued Congressional funding.
“Coutinued operation of Press 3 would have required [the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)] to reallocate funds away from supporting the main 988 Lifeline thereby compromising the entire system. SAMHSA made a critical decision that sustained the entire 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, utilizing remaining FY25 dollars to support all individuals with culturally competent crisis support.”
SAMHSA reports that more than $33 million was spent on “Press 3” between 2022 and 2025, money the agency says was fully exhausted. The 988 hotline will still serve all callers, HHS maintains, but no longer with a dedicated LGBTQ+ option.
While HHS maintains the 988 is still for “all Americans,” advocates say general access isn’t the same as affirming care.
“Just because funding has been removed from 988 doesn’t mean people are no longer in crisis,” Becker said. “There’s still a need for these [LGBTQ+] people to get support.”
Organizations Still Serving LGBTQ+ Youth: ‘We’ve Got Your Back’
Although the Press 3 is no longer an option, there are several organizations such as the LBTQ National Help Center and SMYAL still working to provide support and empower LGBTQ+ youth.
However, Press 3’s discontinuation did not only leave queer youth more vulnerable, it also placed immense pressure on under-resourced nonprofits to pick up the pieces.
Having never received government funding, the LGBT National Help Center, one of the few national hotlines still providing queer-specific support, has seen a significant increase in calls and not enough people to answer them.
“It puts so much additional strain on us as well as other nonprofits to be able to pick up that enormous slack that had been provided by 988,” Becker told The Informer. “We are working extra hard to add more volunteers onto the hotline.”
Becker said that this isn’t easy, as volunteers go through a three month-long training process to ensure that they’re able to provide the necessary care.
“It’s not like, overnight, we can throw in 100 more volunteers onto the phones. We have to make sure that they are adequately trained,” Becker explained. “We’re working very hard to get as many volunteers as we possibly can trained to get onto the phone. [We’re] making sure they are equipped to be able to deal with the trauma that we’re hearing on the phone from our callers.”
Because of the influx of calls their hotline has been receiving, there’s been wait times and even missed calls.
“The reality is that there are a lot of people trying to reach us that are not always able to get through right away and that’s the last thing we want to see happen,” the center’s founder noted.
For queer youth feeling abandoned by the system, Becker has a message about LBTQ National Help Center: “We haven’t gone anywhere.”
“We are doing everything we possibly can,” he continued, “to step up and be there for people who need help.”
While SYMAL does not operate its own crisis line, the organization works to support local LGBTQ+ youth through mental health counseling, school-based programs, and resource referrals.
“We’ve built a network of parents and support people who know the resources to direct people to,” said Hancie Stokes, communications director for SYMAL.
SYMAL offers resources like hosting therapy groups directly in local schools and providing affirming after-school programs. The organization also partnered with a school in Prince George’s County where more than 90 young people participated in weekly sessions.
“If you ever tried to get a high schooler to go to anything consistently, you know how hard it is. They showed up consistently every single week for nine weeks,” Stokes explained. “That [shows] us that there’s such a need for this.”
In addition to the successful turnout, Stokes also emphasized SYMAL works to build trust and a strong, reliable reputation with local youth.
“[Young people] expect us to be right there with them, helping to create access so that their voices can be heard,” Stokes told The Informer. “We really want to create spaces that say ‘We’ve got your back.’”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7. LGBTQ+ people can also reach out to the National LGBT Help Center at 1-888-843-4564 or visit lgbthotline.org for peer support and resources.