Content warning: This article deals with themes of suicide and highlights statistics on suicidality in young people. Reader discretion is advised.
A leaked draft of a budget has revealed that the Trump administration is considering cutting funding for a “life-saving” LGBTQ+ youth suicide-prevention service.
Seen by PinkNews, the proposals, suggest funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline LGBTQ+ Youth Specialised Services be ended by the beginning of October.
The service provides emergency support for LGBTQ+ under-18s who are considering taking their own life, by connecting them with suicide-prevention organisations. It is funded through the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Since it began operating in July 2022, the federal programme has helped more than 1.2 million youngsters and routed more than 14.5 million contacts, including 9.8 million calls and 2.57 million texts.
The planned closure flies in the face of data reported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which shows that calls to the service have risen from 1,752 in September 2022 to 58,924 in February 2025.
Demand for the lifeline peaked in January – the same month as Donald Trump’s inauguration – with 60,711 calls directed onwards.
‘Suicide prevention is about risk, not identity’
Eliminating the programme’s funding would “put lives at risk”, according to Jaymes Black, the chief executive of The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention not-for-profit organisation that focuses on LGBTQ+ youngsters.
“Suicide prevention is about risk, not identity,” Black said. “These programmes were implemented to address a proven, unprecedented and ongoing mental-health crisis among our nation’s young people, with strong bipartisan support in congress.”
The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ young people in the US seriously consider suicide each year. It is the second-largest cause of death among children between the ages of 10 and 14, and at least one person tries to take their own life every 45 seconds.
Black said that, while the suggested cuts were upsetting, they were not set in stone, and that The Trevor Project and other groups would remain available 24/7.
“We urge the administration to maintain its long-standing commitment to ending suicide among high-risk populations, especially our nation’s young people. We urge congress to defend its establishment of this data-based, bipartisan programme, to allow its life-saving service to continue for generations to come,” Black went on to say.
“We do not have to agree on every policy issue to agree that every young life is worth saving.”
The leaked draft comes as the Trump administration continues to cut funding for other LGBTQ+ protection schemes. Earlier this month, the Department of Health was condemned for a “dangerous” decision to slash more than 10,000 jobs, including in the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/Aids Policy and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts warned that the move could undo decades of work to minimise the spread of HIV and various STIs in the US and beyond. The Human Rights Campaign urged the government to reconsider before “devastating consequences” were felt.
Suicide is preventable. Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact the Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org), or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
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