988 suicide prevention service for LGBTQ+ youth faces possible elimination by Trump administration

The Trump administration is considering eliminating the 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline's specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth as a way to cut back on funding for next year's discretionary budget for mental health, prompting alarm from local advocacy groups in Southern California.

Solace Rosado has been sober for two and a half years. As a teen, Rosado was diagnosed with severe depression, anxiety, and ADHD. They also navigated the challenges of coming out first as gay, and later as non-binary to a traditional Latino family. "I've been on the brink of suicide a couple of different times in my life," said Rosado.

They turned to the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline many times. "That person on the other end, when I've called, they do make me feel like I'm being heard," said Rosado.

Rosado is sharing their story as documents reviewed by CNN show that as part of proposed budget cuts, the Trump administration is considering eliminating the lifeline's specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth. The White House has not commented.

It's a concern for Rosado and other organizations serving these communities.

"If they get their way, it's going to become basically law in October of this year. So I'm frightened by it," said Casey Weitzman, president and founder of Gender Wellness of Los Angeles. The organization provides gender and sexual orientation-specific mental health care. Weitzman and other providers are witnessing an increased level of fear in an already vulnerable community. "People are now more scared to come out and rethinking it, like, maybe I'll do it later."

Weitzman and Rosado want to sound the alarm and encourage those looking for support. Rosado echoes the advice of a friend.

"There is a power greater than ourselves, that wants you to be happy, wants you to feel loved, and wants you to be you. So keep doing that, and I feel that's like the most powerful thing that I tell myself every day," Rosado said.

In October 2020, President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill making 988 the universal telephone number to reach the national suicide prevention hotline.

In July 2022, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline launched under the Biden administration, transitioning what was a 10-digit number to an easier-to-remember three-digit number. People seeking emotional and mental health support can dial 988 for help in the same way they might dial 911 for medical emergencies.

Soon after its launch, the 988 Lifeline included a subnetwork for LGBTQ+ individuals to connect with specialized services. Now, when people dial 988, they are given the option to press 3 to reach crisis counselors trained to work with LGBTQ+ youth.

As of mid-March, more than 14.5 million people have called, texted or sent chats to the 988 Lifeline and been transferred to a crisis contact center since July 2022, according to data from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. About 1.2 million of those were routed to the LGBTQ+ specialized service.

"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, CEO of The Trevor Project, said in a news release.

"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," he said. "We urge the Administration to maintain its long-standing commitment to ending suicide among high-risk populations, especially our nation's young people."

Since 2022, the federal government has invested some $1.5 billion in the 988 project, including expanding access to services for Spanish speakers, LGBTQI+ youth and young adults, and people who are deaf or hard of hearing by creating sub-lifelines or subnetworks for those groups.

The CNN Wire contributed to this report.