LGBTQ+ youth suicide hotline among proposed HHS budget cuts
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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a swearing in ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House on April 18. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
A Trump administration budget proposal that calls to strike a number of programs from the federal health bureaucracy would also seek to eliminate funding for specialized crisis services for LGBTQ+ youth.
The big picture: The national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services has received more than 1.2 million crisis contacts since 2022. Scrapping the program, advocates say, would put young people at risk.
- 988 launched the pilot program to specifically support LGBTQ+ young people under the age of 25 in 2022 and expanded the lifeline option the following year to provide 24/7 care.
- The draft demonstrates the priorities of Trump's Office of Management and Budget for his FY 2026 budget request to Congress, the Washington Post notes. The new federal fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
- The budget proposal doesn't say how much the cuts would total, but the LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork that provides 988 Lifeline crisis services received an estimated $50 million in restricted federal funds for FY 2025, per the Trevor Project.
Context: Mental health challenges are pervasive among LGBTQ+ youth, who already face significant hurdles to accessing care, according to research from the Trevor Project, which supports life-saving services via the 988 Lifeline.
- LGBTQ+ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers, according to the LGBTQ+ advocacy and crisis service organization.
- The Trevor Project served more than 231,000 crisis contacts through the lifeline in 2024, said Janson Wu, the organization's vice president of advocacy & government affairs, in a statement to Axios.
- It handles nearly 50% of the specialized services' contact volume as one of seven centers in the LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork.
What they're saying: "Suicide prevention is about risk, not identity. Ending the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's LGBTQ+ youthT specialized services will not just strip away access from millions of LGBTQ+ kids and teens – it will put their lives at risk," said Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black.
- Black emphasized that the proposed cut in the leaked document — known as a budget passback — is not final.
Zoom out: Also suggested in the 64-page budget proposal, first reported on by the Washington Post, is the elimination of programs for rural health care providers, HIV treatment efforts and childhood lead poisoning, Axios' Emily Peck and Maya Goldman reported.
- It also would not fund Head Start, a federal program that provides services like childcare and nutrition assistance.
- But it calls for about $20 billion to be appropriated to a new agency within HHS called the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA).
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which funds the 988 lifeline and has already faced steep cuts, would be rolled into AHA, according to Kennedy's proposed HHS restructuring plan.
Zoom in: Since assuming office and during his time on the campaign trail, President Trump has prioritized rolling back protections for transgender Americans, jeopardizing access to health care, military participation, federal recognition and other parts of public life.
The bottom line: Robert Gebbia, the CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, highlighted the importance of "uniquely trained counselors" to provide dedicated services for high-risk groups, like LGBTQ+ youth and veterans.
- He added, "These crisis response services are effective and save young lives."
Go deeper: NIH halts key LGBTQ+ HIV studies, citing mission conflict
