The Trump administration has proposed eliminating funding for suicide prevention services tailored to LGBTQ+ youth, according to a preliminary budget for the Department of Health and Human Services.
The draft budget, first obtained by The Washington Post last week, slashes about one-third of the agency’s total spending and eliminates funding for dozens of services for LGBTQ+ youth and adults.
The Trump administration plans to merge the Substance and Mental Health Services Administration, an HHS agency dedicated to improving mental health treatment to vulnerable communities, into a new office called the Administration for a Health America, according to the budget.
Through that process, the administration plans on cutting all federal funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for LGBTQ+ Youth, as well as mental health services geared toward children, incarcerated youth, indigenous and native communities, unhoused people, and people living with HIV.
The 988 lifeline, which launched nationwide in 2022, is a suicide and crisis hotline that offers free 24/7 crisis support via voice, text and chat services in English and Spanish.
In 2023, the 988 line launched a specialized service to address the mental health needs of LGBTQ+ youth.
LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely than their peers to attempt suicide, and they experience increased rates of depression, anxiety, and bullying and harassment. A 2021 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 45% of queer high school students had seriously considered attempting suicide, and trans youth face even higher rates of suicidality. That study has since been removed from official government websites as part of President Donald Trump’s purge of government data related to LGBTQ+ youth.
The Trevor Project, a leading nonprofit organization aimed at suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, was the first provider to pilot 988’s LGBTQ+ youth services. The organization fielded more than 231,000 crisis contacts last year. Days after the 2024 presidential election, the organization saw a record-breaking 700% increase in contacts.
The Trevor Project makes up nearly half of texts and calls to youth in crisis, but is just one of a handful of providers that make up the LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork, a network of specialized mental health and crisis support services for LGBTQ+ youth. Trans Lifeline, Q Chat Space, LGBTQ National Help Center, Teen Link and Planned Parenthood are also involved.
“If this budget draft moves forward, it would have a significant impact on The Trevor Project’s operations,” Jason Wu, The Trevor Project’s vice president of advocacy and government affairs, said in a statement to HuffPost.
“The organization has received millions of dollars in federal funding each year to support our life-saving services through The 988 Lifeline. In effect, the loss of this funding would result in a loss of resources we rely on to hire, train, and support crisis counselors – and to reach LGBTQ+ youth across the country amid growing demand for these life-saving services.”
In the past the LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork received around $50 million in federal funds annually via SAMHSA to run its services. The elimination of federal funding for LGBTQ+ youth mental health services comes as Trump has continued to attack LGBTQ+ rights nationwide. Trump has already tried to withhold funding from hospitals and clinics that provide gender-affirming care for trans youth, and from schools that allow trans athletes to participate on teams that align with their gender identity. After signing an executive order declaring there are only “two sexes, male and female,” the State Department began denying passports to trans people and stopped issuing those with an “X” gender marker.
“Suicide prevention is about risk, not identity. Ending the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth specialized services will not just strip away access from millions of LGBTQ+ kids and teens – it will put their lives at risk,” Jaymes Black, the CEO of The Trevor Project, wrote in a statement. “These programs were implemented to address a proven, unprecedented, and ongoing mental health crisis among our nation’s young people with strong bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law by President Trump himself.”
The preliminary budget also shines a light into some of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s priorities and his initiative to “Make America Healthy Again.” Though Kennedy has repeatedly expressed a desire to focus on chronic childhood disease, the proposal would cut programs that focus on preventive care, including eliminating the Head Start program, which provides early child care and education for low-income families.
The elimination of these services would go into effect in October, but the changes to HHS would first need to be approved by Congress.
If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention.