Lawmakers look to restart suicide lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth service

A bipartisan group of lawmakers from across both chambers of Congress introduced legislation this week calling for the Department of Health and Human Services “to dedicate sufficient resources” to the crisis and suicide lifeline for LGBTQ+ youth after the Trump administration terminated the service in July. 

The measure said this effort would include “establishing, re-establishing, operating, and maintaining specialized services” for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program. 

The three-digit 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was launched in 2022 and is overseen by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is located within HHS. A pilot program designed for LGBTQ+ youth was also set up that year to provide more direct support for those under the age of 25 seeking help, with the line becoming accessible 24/7 in 2023 as a dedicated “press 3” option for callers.

In a statement announcing that the LGBTQ+ youth hotline would be shut down on July 17, SAMHSA said 988 “will no longer silo LGB+ youth services.” The decision to eliminate the dedicated 988 “press 3” option came amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on various diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs across the government.

“Everyone who contacts the 988 Lifeline will continue to receive access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors who can help with suicidal, substance misuse, or mental health crises, or any other kind of emotional distress,” SAMHSA said.

The measure seeking to re-establish the LGBTQ+ youth crisis hotline was introduced in the House on Wednesday by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and is co-sponsored by Reps. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., Sharice Davids, D-Kan., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Seth Moulton, D-Mass.

Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, also introduced companion legislation in the upper chamber on Wednesday. 

In addition to re-establishing and maintaining 988’s LGBTQ+ youth-focused “press 3” option, the lawmakers’ proposal also directs HHS to reserve at least 9% of the overall Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s funding for this specific hotline. 

“Nearly 1.3 million LGBTQ+ youth have already turned to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s ‘Press 3’ option,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “That tells us two things: the need is staggering, and the service is working. Behind every call is a child fighting to survive, and having trained, affirming support on the other end of the line can mean the difference between despair and hope.”

A 2024 survey conducted by nonprofit suicide prevention organization The Trevor Project found that 39% of LGBTQ+ respondents “seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.” Many lawmakers have cited this report as an example of why they believe eliminating the 988 lifeline’s “plus 3” option is a mistake. 

Seven Democrat senators, led by Baldwin, sent a letter in May to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., calling for the department to reconsider cuts to the 988 LGBTQ+ youth lifeline after NPR reported on a leaked HHS budget proposal that included cutting the dedicated service. 

Krishnamoorthi and more than 100 Democrat colleagues subsequently sent a July letter to leaders of the House Appropriations Committee that asked them to maintain funding for the hotline in the fiscal year 2026 budget for HHS, saying that “in the midst of a youth mental health crisis, we cannot afford to eliminate a critical, life-saving resource for LGBTQ+ youth, who face both higher risks and greater barriers to care.”