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Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
California steps in to support LGBTQ+ youth after federal lifeline cutback
(FOX 5/KUSI) — As the Trump administration eliminates a specialized LGBTQ+ support option on the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, California is stepping up to ensure vulnerable youth are not left behind. Starting July 17, LGBTQ+ youth across the U.S. will no longer be able to press '3' on the 988 Lifeline to be routed to LGBTQ+-specific counselors—a service that has supported over 1.5 million calls since its launch in 2022. But state leaders in California say the Golden State won't let those young people go unheard. Governor Gavin Newsom, in partnership with the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) and national suicide prevention nonprofit The Trevor Project, announced on Wednesday a new effort to bolster 988 support services for LGBTQ+ callers. The initiative will include enhanced training for crisis counselors across California's 988 call centers to ensure competent and inclusive care. '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.' Newsom responds after court blocks indiscriminate immigration stops in California State officials say the change reflects California's broader investment in youth mental health, including programs under the state's Master Plan for Kids' Mental Health and the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI). These efforts have funded LGBTQ+-specific mental health programs, expanded community spaces, and launched anti-stigma campaigns aimed at youth. Kim Johnson, Secretary of CalHHS, emphasized the urgency of the work, stating, '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.' First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom was more pointed in her criticism of the federal move. 'There could not be a more stark reminder of the moral bankruptcy of this administration than cutting off suicide prevention resources for LGBTQ youth,' she said. 'These are young people reaching out in their time of deepest crisis —and I'm proud of California's work to partner with the Trevor Project to creatively address this need.' Where to get help While the federal 'Press 3' LGBTQ+ support option will disappear from the national 988 hotline on July 17, California residents can still access trained LGBTQ+-affirming crisis counselors through state-supported 988 call centers or by contacting The Trevor Project directly Here are ways to get help: Call, text, or chat 988 at any time for 24/7 support. Text PRIDE or call 1‑866‑488‑7386 to reach The Trevor Project's crisis counselors. Visit for free non-crisis support and peer counseling. Why it matters LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their non-LGBTQ+ peers, according to national data. Without access to affirming services, those risks are expected to increase. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
09-07-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
National suicide prevention hotline plans to stop offering LGBTQ+ youth counseling. Queer advocates in L.A. wonder what's next
Amy Kane was filled with dread when she heard that the national suicide prevention lifeline would stop offering specialized crisis intervention to young LGBTQ+ Americans and end its partnership with the West Hollywood-based Trevor Project. With the service set to end July 17, Kane, a therapist who identifies as lesbian, believes the Trump administration is sending a clear message to queer Americans: 'We don't care whether you live or die.' Since it launched in 2022, more than 1.3 million queer young Americans struggling with a mental health crisis have dialed the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which gave them the option to press '3' to connect with a specialist trained to address their unique life experiences. As the largest of seven LGBTQ+ contractors, the Trevor Project alone handles about half of all volume from queer callers to the 988 line. The government's decision is yet another broadside from an administration whose actions have left queer public health advocates and providers reeling, including at the Los Angeles LGBTQ Center, where Kane serves as director of mental health services. Under pressure from the Trump administration, Children's Hospital Los Angeles sent letters to families in early June saying it planned to suspend its healthcare program for transgender children and young adults in late July. The LGBTQ Center and other groups have demanded that the hospital reconsider. Around the same time came the news about the 988 line and the Trevor Project, a nonprofit founded in 1998 by the makers of the Academy Award-winning short film 'Trevor' — about a teen who attempts suicide — to address the absence of a major prevention network tailored to the needs of queer youth. 'So much has been thrown our way in the last five months,' Kane said. 'It's across the board. It's not just mental health. We see what's happening with gender-affirming care, dramatic cuts in research for HIV and STIs. … What's next?' Given L.A.'s status as a haven for LGBTQ+ people — the first permitted Pride parade took place in Hollywood in 1970 — Kane wonders whether the recent moves are an attempt to intimidate and punish Californians for being so welcoming. The threats aren't just coming from Washington. Kane said that she and other leaders had to lobby state legislators recently to preserve funding for a queer women's preventive-healthcare program offered through the L.A. LGBTQ Center that was to be revoked due to a state budget shortfall. For now, the program has been given a temporary reprieve. 'It used to be this idea of, 'Oh yeah, that's in the red states, but I'm safe in California' — it doesn't feel that way anymore,' Kane said. Staff at the Trevor Project scrambling to figure out how to save the jobs of about 200 counselors who are paid through the federal contract, including raising private funds to make up for the unexpected shortfall, said Mark Henson, interim vice president of advocacy and government affairs. The news couldn't come at a worse time, given that calls nationwide are on pace to top 700,000 in 2025. That's up from 600,000 in 2024, a spokesperson said, citing metrics from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Another 100 crisis counselors are employed and paid separately by the Trevor Project itself. They will continue taking calls through the project's own 24/7, free crisis line, one of several options that local LGBTQ+ organizations offer. Los Angeles County's Alternative Crisis Response has a 24/7 helpline at (800) 854-7771 that also provides culturally sensitive support services. But Alex Boyd, the Trevor Project's director of crisis intervention, said he isn't sure how his organization can make up for the loss of the nationwide visibility and federal support that the 988 partnership affords them. LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers, according to the Trevor Project. Its 2024 survey found that in California, 35% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered taking their own lives and that 11% of respondents had attempted suicide in the previous year. In defending the decision to stop working with the Trevor Project at a House budget hearing in May, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that while Trump supports the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in general, 'We don't want to isolate different demographics and polarize our country.' The big question, Boyd said, is will young LGBTQ+ Americans who already feel shunned or misunderstood still trust a suicide prevention line that no longer offers counselors they can easily relate to? A one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work when it comes to people in emotional and mental distress, Boyd said. He fears the worst. 'The fact that such a significant amount of our capacity for impact has now been stripped away — there is no operational way in order to navigate through a moment like this that doesn't result, in at least the short term, in a loss of life.' Counselors at the Trevor Project hear the anguish over the anti-LGBTQ+ backlash in the voices of young callers seeking help through the lifeline, Boyd said. 'The statements we are hearing are: 'Our government doesn't support me. The government is actively erasing my experience from the national conversation.' ' 'Increasingly, the biggest thread that we see from young people reaching out to us is this idea that it is already difficult to be a young person in the world — this is another layer that we're adding onto children's lives,' Boyd said. 'They're coming to us saying they're not sure how they're going to be able to navigate through more years of this before they get some level of autonomy and agency and find some sense of safety.' Along with a host of executive actions signed by the president, thousands of bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community have been introduced in state legislatures, in cities and in school districts in California and around the country, including calls to ban books that mention same-sex relationships and gender identity, remove the Pride flag from government buildings and kick trans athletes off of sports teams. Adding to the strain on the queer community, Trump's self-described 'Big Beautiful Bill,' recently passed in both houses in Congress, cuts public health funding for low-income Americans who receive Medicaid. LGBTQ+ Americans are twice as likely to rely on Medicaid to receive their health care than other Americans, said Alexandra Curd, a staff policy attorney at the national advocacy group Lambda Legal. Over 40% of nonelderly U.S. adults living with HIV depend on the federal program for their healthcare needs compared to 15% for the general population, according to KFF. Many recipients rely nonprofit organizations funded by federal grants to get HIV and STI screenings and receive HIV prevention medications such as PREP and PEP, Curd said. Because of the Medicaid cuts and the prospect of increased difficulty in accessing preventive care and emotional support, 'We're going to possibly be seeing rising infections rates for HIV,' she said. Curd said a recent spike in HIV rates among Latino men could only worsen. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials have cited a lack of adequate funding, racial bias, language barriers and mistrust of the medical system among the reasons that gay and bisexual Latino men account for a disproportionate percentage of new HIV cases. Lambda Legal's help desk has already received more requests for assistance with health care, employment and housing discrimination in the first half of 2025 than in all of 2024, with the most pressing need coming from trans and nonbinary callers. One piece of good news for L.A. came recently when Rep. Laura Friedman (D–West Hollywood) announced that the Trump administration had restored more than $19 million in federal grants for HIV and STI prevention and tracking that were earmarked for the L.A. County Department of Public Health but slashed by the CDC. Friedman said she and others spoke out against the cut were able to secure an extra $338,019 in federal funding for the new fiscal year starting June 1. But it's hard for healthcare organizations to celebrate given that vital funds for mental health and HIV programs were targeted in the first place. Manny Zermeño, a behavioral health specialist at the Long Beach office of another queer community service organization, APLA Health, senses the distress in his clients. 'There is fear, sadness and also with those feelings, it's natural to have some anger and confusion,' Zermeño said. The L.A.-based nonprofit focuses on providing free and affordable dental, medical, counseling and other services for queer people 18 and over. It was founded in 1982 as AIDS Project Los Angeles. Back then, a small team of volunteers worked a telephone hotline in the closet of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbians Community Service Center, fielding calls from panicked residents seeking answers about what was then a fatal disease for which there was no treatment. The organization operated the first dental clinic in the U.S. catering to AIDS patients out of a trailer in West Hollywood. After movie star Rock Hudson announced he had AIDS in 1985, the organization galvanized support among Angelenos by hosting the first-ever AIDS Walk fundraiser at Paramount Studios, according to its website. Kane and leaders of other community organizations in L.A. said they would rally once again, this time to assist the Trevor Project. 'All of us who have boots on the ground — you'll literally have to drag us out by our ankles in order to not provide care to our community,' Kane said. 'I don't believe that queer kids will not have access to resources, because we won't allow it.'
New York Times
02-07-2025
- Health
- New York Times
What I Heard on a Suicide Hotline for Trans Kids
The Supreme Court's decision to uphold Tennessee's law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors and the Trump administration's decision to end funding for the specialized suicide hotline for L.G.B.T.Q.+ callers are not coincidental. They both speak to a fundamental failure to acknowledge the day-to-day reality of trans people in America. As part of my research for a book about suicide prevention, I spent about a year working weekends on a hotline. I couldn't acquire a serious understanding of what it meant to talk someone out of attempting suicide just by interviewing therapists or even sitting next to the people taking hotline calls. I wanted to feel the weight of caring for suicidal people and experience what it was like to help them through a crisis. What the Trump administration fails to understand is that a common thread running through these calls is the desperate search for just one trusted adult. If the callers had one, there is a good chance they might not have had the need to reach us. One trusted adult could help them figure out how to open up to their families and friends. One trusted adult could get them through a tough night when they feel utterly hopeless. The national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on which I worked is the nation's main suicide prevention effort. In many areas of the country, it may be the only therapy the callers will ever get. On any given night, I was taking calls from all over America. Most of my calls came from rural, isolated communities that lacked public transportation. After my standard greeting, calls could quickly get intimate. We had our share of regulars: quiet ladies in nursing home beds, college students alone in their dorms. People would call from their cars after their shifts stocking shelves and dressing window displays or from hallways of a noisy homeless shelter. Some were unsure if they could trust me. I never could predict how a call would go. I would try at least to stay with the caller as long as they wanted, which could be when their cellphone ran out of juice. Next to my computer, I wrote on a scrap of paper, 'Be humble.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Newsweek
27-06-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
California Schools to Change From August: What to Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. California schools are set to implement a number of changes in the upcoming school year starting August. Schools will be required to print suicide prevention resources on student identification cards, and start planning for the future of students with special needs as soon as they enter high school. Newsweek contacted California Governor Gavin Newsom's office and the California Department of Education for comment via email outside of regular working hours. Governor Gavin Newsom speaking in California in April. Newsom has championed improving access to mental health services for students in the state. Governor Gavin Newsom speaking in California in April. Newsom has championed improving access to mental health services for students in the state. Noah Berger/AP Why It Matters The measures are part of a legislative agenda championed by Newsom to improve access to mental health services for students, and to support students with special needs. What To Know Under Senate Bill 1063, public or private schools that serve students in grades seven to 12 and issue identification cards will be required to print the number for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on students' IDs. This is a change from a previous requirement to have the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline printed on ID cards, according to the bill. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's three-digit number, which launched in 2022, replaced the National Suicide Prevention Line's 10-digit number, even though that still remains active. The law also allows schools to print a QR code on ID cards linking to the mental health resources website of the county in which the school is located. Assembly Bill 438, which was approved last year, requires that individualized education programs, or IEPs, include measurable post-secondary goals and transition services for students with special needs from as early as when they start high school, if determined appropriate by the IEP team. The change will mean that planning for the student's post-secondary goals could begin up to two years earlier than previously, according to Newsom's office. What People Are Saying California State Senator Shannon Grove, a Republican who authored Senate Bill 1063, said in a statement last year: "Updating student ID cards so children have immediate access to mental health resources is smart policy... I am thrilled that students across the state of California will now have essential mental health resources at their fingertips to combat their distress." The California Department of Education said in a statement in May: "As explained in AB 438, existing law requires IEPs to include appropriate measurable postsecondary goals and transition services, as defined, beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when a pupil is 16 years old, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP team, which are to be updated annually. "Beginning July 1, 2025, AB 438 requires an IEP to include measurable postsecondary goals and transition services, if determined appropriate by a pupil's IEP team, beginning when an individual with exceptional needs starts their high school experience and not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the pupil is 16 years of age." What Happens Next The two laws go into effect on July 1, 2025, and will impact students from the start of the school year beginning in August.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bipartisan House coalition demands RFK Jr. reverse Trump's plan to end LGBTQ+ suicide prevention hotline
A bipartisan group of U.S. House lawmakers is urging Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to block the Trump administration's plan to eliminate the LGBTQ+ youth services within the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline—an emergency support network that has served more than 1.3 million contacts since its full implementation in 2023. Keep up with the latest in + news and politics. The Wednesday letter, signed by Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, New York Republican Michael Lawler, Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton, and Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Pennsylvania, calls on Kennedy to stop a 30-day phaseout announced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on June 17. According to internal agency guidance, the LGBTQ+-specific branch of the hotline, which allows callers to 'press 3' to connect with affirming counselors, is set to be dismantled by July 17, according to SAMHSA. Related: Advocates and health experts worry Trump's suicide prevention hotline cuts will increase LGBTQ+ youth deaths 'This is not some kind of hotline set by a liberal Democratic administration,' Krishnamoorthi said in an interview with The Advocate Thursday morning. 'It was actually signed into law by President Trump. Various Republicans in the Senate and the House supported it.' Since the line became fully operational in 2023, he noted, 'it has received an astonishing 1.3 million calls, texts, and other forms of communication' and was 'averaging 2,900 contacts every day' as recently as February. Krishnamoorthi, who serves as a ranking member of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, raised the issue sharply during a Wednesday hearing on diversity, equity, and inclusion policy rollbacks. 'In the name of expunging DEI, the Trump administration has lurched from the farcical to the cruel,' he said, highlighting the crisis line's termination as an especially harmful example. 'These actions are wrong, but do not compete in cruelty with the ending of a suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth.' The LGBTQ+ subnetwork of 988 was developed under a bipartisan mandate to offer tailored support to high-risk groups, much like the veteran-specific track within the program. In addition to young people, it has provided critical services to adults experiencing distress related to anti-LGBTQ+ violence, legislation, and rejection. Related: Trump administration finalizes plan to eliminate LGBTQ+ 988 crisis services during WorldPride At the hearing, Krishnamoorthi pressed conservative legal activist Daniel Lennington on whether he disputed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from the Trump administration showing LGBTQ+ youth face significantly higher suicide risk. Lennington replied he was 'not aware of anything to do with the suicide hotline,' prompting Krishnamoorthi to respond, 'That's the problem—a lack of awareness.' Krishnamoorthi told The Advocate that the decision to eliminate the program was driven by the Trump administration's broader campaign against diversity and inclusion initiatives. 'Eliminating this lifeline is cruelty because you are essentially discontinuing a service that saves lives,' he said. 'In the name of fighting DEI, they're going to cause a lot of young people to DIE.' Krishnamoorthi warned that 'especially now, during a time when the LGBTQ+ community at large feels tremendous pressure,' the need for the hotline may be 'much higher than it was before.' Krishnamoorthi emphasized the rare bipartisan nature of the letter to Kennedy. 'It's hard to get bipartisan letters, let alone legislation, on topics involving the LGBTQ+ community,' he said. 'But this one touches a nerve. I think that young people, whoever they are, still occupy a soft corner in people's hearts regardless of ideology.' The Trump administration's move, first reported in The Advocate in April, was confirmed in the FY2026 budget released during WorldPride in Washington, D.C. Mental health advocates and LGBTQ+ organizations have condemned the proposal as reckless and dangerous. Mark Henson of The Trevor Project previously told The Advocate the 988 LGBTQ+ subnetwork is 'a vital tool' that serves more than 60,000 young people each month. Without it, advocates warn, those calls may go unanswered—or be routed to general crisis lines lacking LGBTQ+ expertise. In response to a question about his message to young LGBTQ+ people, Krishnamoorthi said he's met with young people and their parents and understands their pain. 'We've got to band together at the state level, at the local level to protect whatever rights we can. We must continue to fight for change in the future,' he said. Krishmamoorthi added, 'If we can rally around a group of people, it would be our young people.' If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at or text START to 678678. This article originally appeared on Advocate: Bipartisan House coalition demands RFK Jr. reverse Trump's plan to end LGBTQ+ suicide prevention hotline Advocates and health experts worry Trump's suicide prevention hotline cuts will increase LGBTQ+ youth deaths The Trevor Project Extends 988 Crisis Line Partnership to Support Vulnerable LGBTQ+ Youth
