Last Updated on May 20, 2025 by BVN
Overview: The Trump administration’s leaked budget proposal suggests cutting funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services, which provides emergency crisis support to LGBTQ+ youth considering suicide. This proposal would remove a vital resource for vulnerable youth and increase the risk of suicide. Advocates urge those in need to seek support from available resources, including the Trevor Project, LGBT National Hotline, and LGBT National Youth Talkline.
Breanna Reeves
A leaked draft of the budget proposal revealed that the Trump administration plans to cut certain health programs under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to a 64-page document obtained and authenticated by The Washington Post.
Part of the proposal includes eliminating all funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services effective October 1, 2025. Launched in 2022, this federal program provides emergency crisis support to LGBTQ+ youth considering suicide.
In 2024, among LGBTQ+ young people ages 13 to 24 in California, 35% of LGBTQ+ young California seriously considered suicide in the past year, including 39% of transgender and nonbinary young people, according to The Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, which surveyed 18,000 LGBTQ+ young people across the U.S. in 2024.
Eleven percent of LGBTQ+ young people in California attempted suicide in the past year, including 14% of transgender and nonbinary young people.
Experts, like Toi Thibodeaux, who have more than a decade of experience supporting vulnerable youth in the Inland Empire recognizes the importance of the 988 LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program. Thibodeaux is the director of the IE LGBTQ+ Center at TruEvolution, a nonprofit based in Riverside that supports and offers health services for LGBTQ+ people.
“Removing this resource will directly result in more suicides—plain and simple,” Thibodeaux said in an email.
“I’ve sat with LGBTQ+ youth at the Inland Empire LGBTQ+ Center who are in tears, feeling hopeless, and saying their lives aren’t worth living. Hearing someone say, ‘I just don’t want to wake up tomorrow’ is gut-wrenching,” Thibodeaux said.
Thibodeaux shared that the 988 hotline has been a lifesaving tool for many LGBTQ+ youth, especially when other resources are unavailable. While several local organizations offer free hotline services for those experiencing a crisis, most do not have the capacity to handle such a high volume of calls.
“If this cut goes through, organizations like the Inland Empire LGBTQ+ Center will face overwhelming challenges,” Thibodeaux continued. “We are dedicated to doing everything possible to support LGBTQ+ youth, but the loss of a national, dedicated lifeline will push community resources to their breaking point. Despite our commitment, many youth will still fall through the cracks.”
Since the launch of the program in 2022, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has answered calls, texts and chats from more than one million LGBTQI+ callers.
According to The Trevor Project, suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 14, and the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year olds. It further highlighted that LGBTQ+ young people more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers.
“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,” stated Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project 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.”
While the budget draft is not set in stone and advocates worry about what will happen if it does go through, they urge those in need to reach out if they need support or someone to talk to.
In Riverside County, the county’s behavior health department launched TakemyHand™ Live Peer Chat, a solution that came from the Help@Hand Riverside Program. It is a peer-to-peer live chat interface using the internet, where Live Peer Operators engage with community members in real-time conversations about emotional wellness and help chat visitors build resiliency when life is difficult.
The Trevor Project also has trained crisis counselors who are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678.
Other resources include the LGBT National Hotline: (888) 843-4564 and the LGBT National Youth Talkline (youth serving youth through age 25): (800) 246-7743.
