Groups respond as Trump ends LGBTQ+ suicide hot-line
By: Gene Myers
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... The Trump administration;s decision to end crisis services for LGBQ+ youth through the 988 suicide prevention hot-line has triggered alarm among the community and mental health provers in New Jersey.
.....
The LGBTQ+ line, accessed by pressing "3" after dialing the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, connects callers with counselors trained to support LGBTQ+ people in crisis. Since October 2022, the service has handled more than 1.3 million contacts nationally, with a nonprofit group. The Trevor Project, managing nearly half of the volume.
..... But the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the federal Health Department, confirmed on June 17 [2025] that it will end the LGBTQ+ option once funding runs out on July 17. 2025]
..... "This is poor policy, plain and simple. No one's identity or health condition should ever be politicized. But that's exactly what's happening," said debar Wentz, CEO of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies.
..... Federal funding for the LGBTQ+ service was not renewed in the Trump administration's proposed budget, which calls for more than $1 billion in overall cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which oversees the 988 system.
..... "the president's budget funds the 988 at $520 million - the same number as under [Joe] Biden. It does not, however, grant taxpayer money to a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by 'counselors' without consent or knowledge of their parents," Rachel Cauley, communications director at the White House Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement.
.... A set of LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork call centers received up to $50 million in federal funds to operate the program within 988, said a June 18 [2025] statement from The Trevor Project, which ran one of seven centers. The Trevor Project, which describes its mission as suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ youth, has urged Congress was to reverse the administration's decision and is in the middle of an "emergency" funding campaign.
..... LGBTQ+ youths are already at significantly higher risk of suicide, Wentz said. they ear four times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual peers, according to Mental Helaht America, a national advocacy group.
..... "The 988 Lifeline will continue to be a direct connection to immediate support for all Americans, regardless of their circumstances. It is a resource for anyone in crisis," said Danielle Bennett, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Helaht and Human Services.
.....
Bennett said via email that the "press 3 option" had exhausted its congressionally approved funding, with more than $33 million spent as of June. [2025] Continuing the service would have required shifting funds from the broader 988 Lifeline and risked "massive reductions in service" across the system, she said.
..... New Jersey mental helaht leaders voiced concern about the defending, but they stressed that someone will still pick up the phone when help is needed.
..... "We need to do all we can to ensure that our LGBTQ+ youth understand 988 listeners are still available to assist them, but we need to also raise awareness of The Trevor Project, which is a tremendous resources for LGBTQ+ youth," said Wendy Sefcik, chair of the New Jersey chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
..... "They have crisis counselors trained to answer calls, chats or texts from LGBTQ+ young people who reach out on their free, confidential and secure 24/7 service when they are struggling with issues such as coming out, LGBTQ+ identity, depression and suicide," Sefcik said.
.....
Social works JPP Pedoto, who runs the Pride+ program at Family connections in East Orange, [NJ] said there has been a rush of people from the LGBTQ+ community contaminant him with increased anxiety since the start of the Trump administration's second term.
..... "It's a sad day," said Wentz. "People who are LGBTQ+ are already feeling unwelcome."
.....
While the decision to end LGBTQ+ services through 988 appears imminent, it isn't final - Congress still has the power to reverse it during misappropriations. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, had led the charge to continue the funding.
..... "At a time when we should be ramping up mental health care, it is outrageous and cruel that RFK Jr. and Donald Trump are taking away a literal lifeline for LGBTQ+ children. They are putting lives on the line to pay for their tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations," Baldwin said in an email.