As the Trump administration ends the national suicide prevention hotline’s support options for LGBTQ+ youth, California is looking to fill the void by partnering with the Trevor Project.
On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced the partnership between the national nonprofit and the state’s Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) to provide counselors at the 12 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline call centers in California with enhanced training to respond to the needs of LGBTQ+ young people.
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“While the Trump administration continues its attacks on LGBTQ kids, California has a message to the gay community: we see you and we’re here for you,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re proud to work with the Trevor Project to ensure that every person in our state can get the support they need to live a happy, healthy life.”
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During his first term in office, Trump signed legislation designating 988 as the national suicide prevention hotline — similar to 911 emergency services. As The Mercury News notes, under former President Joe Biden, the Trevor Project began providing specialized support for LGBTQ+ youth through the 988 hotline in September 2022. Since then, the service has connected an estimated 1.5 million LGBTQ+ young people with support and the Trevor Project has handled roughly half of the hotline’s overall calls, according to USA Today.
But in April, the Trevor Project confirmed that a leaked Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget draft obtained by The Washington Post proposed eliminating all funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Service. In a statement last month, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that the hotline’s “Press 3 option,” which connected LGBTQ+ youth to specialized services, would end on July 17.
In a statement at the time, Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black described the elimination of the “Press 3 option” as “devastating.”
“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,” Black said. “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 Trevor Project’s own 2024 national survey on LGBTQ+ youth mental health found that 39 percent of LGBTQ+ young people reported seriously considering attempting suicide, while 50 percent of LGBTQ+ young people who wanted mental healthcare were not able to get it. Additionally, the survey indicated that the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies and rhetoric are likely exacerbating the mental health crisis among LGBTQ+ young people, with 90 percent of respondents saying their well-being was negatively impacted by recent politics. The Trevor Project’s crisis service saw a 33% increase in calls and messages on the day of Trump’s inauguration compared to weeks prior, and a 700% increase in contacts on November 6th, the day after it was announced Donald Trump won the presidential election.
“There could not be a more stark reminder of the moral bankruptcy of this Administration than cutting off
In Wednesday’s announcement, Newsom’s office said that California’s partnership with the nonprofit builds on the state’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health and “reflects a shared commitment to evidence-based, LGBTQ+ affirming crisis care.”
“To every young person who identifies as LGBTQ+: You matter. You are not alone. California will continue to show up for you with care, with compassion, and with action,” CalHHS Secretary Kim Johnson said in a statement. “Through this partnership, California will continue to lead, providing enhanced support for these young people.”
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