Youth's Lives Every Day
The Trump administration’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026 calls to eliminate funding for the 988 Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth services, confirming leaked reports
June 9, 2025 – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the full budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026, following a draft proposal which leaked in April, confirming that the federal government has officially proposed to eliminate all funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services. This federal program, which was signed into law during President Trump’s first term with bipartisan support, provides emergency crisis support to LGBTQ+ youth considering suicide. The proposed cuts would eliminate these services, effective October 1, 2025. Since being implemented in 2022, this program, funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has provided an estimated 1.3 million crisis contacts with life-saving, LGBTQ+-inclusive crisis services.
“We do not have to agree on every policy issue to agree that every young American’s life is worth saving. It is deeply upsetting to see the administration reverse course on an evidence-backed, bipartisan program that has successfully provided life-saving crisis care to 1.3 million LGBTQ+ young people, and counting,” said Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project.
“Since the news of this proposal leaked, The Trevor Project has been fighting back – each and every day – to urge our nation’s leaders to reject this fatal proposal. We have received an outpouring of support and shared concern from our partners, allies, and members of Congress of all political ideologies. We are grateful to the many people who continue to urge this administration and Congress to protect access to these life-saving services alongside us. In a nation where our children’s tears fall without distinction of how they identify, we must rise with one voice – across every faith, every belief, and every political line – now is the time for the full volume of our conviction. Now is the time to act. If you’re looking to take action to save young LGBTQ+ lives, visit TheTrevorProject.org/ActNow.”
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 14, and the third leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds. LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers. The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ young people in the United States seriously consider suicide each year, and at least one attempts suicide every 45 seconds.
In total, the 988 Lifeline has served more than 14 million contacts across the U.S. since its creation (this number includes the aforementioned 1.3 million LGBTQ+ young people). Following best practices for suicide prevention, Congress directed The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to create specialized services that support the most at-risk populations in the United States. These services were implemented to support high-risk groups, including veterans and LGBTQ+ youth who contacted the 988 Lifeline.
“Research and data clearly show that LGBTQ+ youth experience higher levels of distress and risk for suicide. This is why the national 988 Crisis and Suicide Lifeline offers LGBTQ+ specialized services,” said John MacPhee, CEO of The Jed Foundation. “More than one million crisis calls have been routed to these LGBTQ+ focused services since 2022, providing specialized life saving support to countless children, friends, siblings, and community members. The current budget proposal to eliminate funding for these existing, effective and widely used services puts young lives in danger. We urge lawmakers and administration officials to reconsider this proposal and to maintain these services that were carefully considered and wisely codified into law in 2020.”
In September 2022, The Trevor Project began providing its best-practice crisis services to LGBTQ+ youth through the 988 Lifeline. When individuals contact the 988 via phone, text, or chat, they are given the option to “press 3” or “reply PRIDE” to be connected with counselors trained specifically to assist LGBTQ+ contacts up to age 25. Initially, The Trevor Project served as the sole provider for the pilot phase of 988 LGBTQ+ youth specialized services, before transitioning to serve as one of seven centers that currently make up the LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork.
The Trevor Project serves nearly 50% of the LGBTQ+ youth specialized services’ contact volume. In 2024 alone, The Trevor Project directly served more than 231,000 crisis contacts, and trained and supported nearly 250 crisis counselors and operational support staff to support the 988 Lifeline. Previously, the LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork received up to $50 million in restricted federal funds to provide these life-saving services.
In response to this budget proposal, The Trevor Project’s supporters in the House and Senate advocated for the continued funding for these life-saving programs. The organization launched a petition to demand lawmakers protect LGBTQ+ youth and an Emergency Lifeline fundraising campaign. On June 2, 2025, more than 100 entertainment icons – across film, music, TV, sports, theater, comedy, fashion, culinary arts, and book publishing – joined The Trevor Project’s sign-on letter to protect federal funding for LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention.
If you or someone you know needs help or support, The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678.
