The Trump administration is reviving a specialized suicide prevention service for LGBTQ+ youth on the 988 crisis hotline, but the nonprofit that created and operated the program faces exclusion from running it again.
The Trevor Project, a New York based organization focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ young people, helped develop the "press 3" option that allowed callers to reach counselors trained specifically to work with LGBTQ+ youth. The service also operated through text and online chat. When the administration shut it down last July with minimal notice, the Trevor Project lost its role in the 988 network.
Congress directed the administration to spend $33 million on LGBTQ+ specific youth interventions, prompting officials to plan a restart by year's end. But the rules for applying to manage the revived service may keep the Trevor Project on the sidelines.
Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit that runs the 988 hotline system, is accepting applications from crisis centers to manage the LGBTQ+ youth program. There's a catch: applicants must be current, active members of the 988 network. The Trevor Project is not, simply because the administration terminated the work the organization specialized in.
The other six crisis centers that participated in the original "press 3" program remain active in the 988 network, though they serve general populations alongside LGBTQ+ people. The Trevor Project was singular in its exclusive mission to serve LGBTQ+ youth in crisis.
Data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration showed the "press 3" service handled 1.6 million contacts while operational. The Trevor Project fielded roughly half that volume.
Dr. Christine Yu Moutier, chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said excluding the Trevor Project "would not make sense." She called it a "longstanding, high quality and trusted resource" to the LGBTQ+ community.
Tammy Baldwin, the Wisconsin Democratic senator and the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate, has championed restoring the service. She called on the Trump administration to bring it back "without needless limitations and with the most qualified, experienced people answering the phone calls and text messages from these vulnerable young people."
The Trevor Project's CEO Jaymes Black said in a statement that the exclusion represents "a dangerous step toward degrading the clinical standards" the specialized service was designed to uphold. He expressed concern that the restarted program "may exclude transgender and non-binary youth entirely." The organization continues running its own independent 24/7 crisis line for LGBTQ+ young people.
The 988 hotline, branded as the mental health equivalent of 911, has been credited with reducing suicide deaths among teens and young adults. It offers specialized routing for military veterans and Spanish speakers, among other groups. LGBTQ+ youth attempt suicide at significantly higher rates than the general population.
When federal officials shut down the "press 3" option, they stated that LGBTQ+ youth could still access help through 988's general services, which would no longer "silo" assistance but instead "focus on serving all help seekers."
A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson did not directly address whether the Trevor Project would be eligible to participate in the restarted program.
Author James Rodriguez: "The irony is sharp: restart a program with federal money, then bar the organization that proved it works and built it in the first place."
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