988 suicide crisis hotline ends LGBTQ+ support option
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Young people participating in June's Motor City Pride parade. Photo: Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The national 988 suicide and crisis hotline no longer includes a specific support option for LGBTQ+ youth as of Thursday, including in Michigan.
Why it matters: The move by the Trump administration limits callers' access to counselors trained to help young queer and transgender people — a group with an elevated suicide risk.
- The Trump administration's policies have included spending cuts, curbing diversity efforts and targeting the rights of transgender people.
By the numbers: An estimated 6% of adult Michiganders identify as LGBTQ+, per a 2020-2021 study from UCLA's Williams Institute, with higher counts for younger folks — 16% of those 18-24.
- More than a third of young LGBTQ+ Michiganders seriously considered suicide in the last year, per a recent survey from The Trevor Project, a national crisis intervention organization. The figure is higher for transgender and nonbinary youth: 42%.
How it worked: Previously, callers to the suicide hotline could dial 3 to be connected with counselors trained to support LGBTQ+ people up to age 25. About half of the calls went to The Trevor Project, which received 231,000 crisis contacts in 2024.
- The press 3 option ran out of congressionally directed funding, a health department spokesperson previously told Axios.
What they're saying: "Suicide prevention is about people, not politics," Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, said in a statement last month.
- Black said the decision to remove a service "that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible."
- The Trevor Project still takes crisis support calls, texts and chats, and kicked off a campaign to help fund its crisis services.
The other side: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said in a statement that those who use 988 "will continue to receive access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors who can help with suicidal, substance misuse, or mental health crises, or any other kind of emotional distress."
Zoom in: With no callers getting redirected to LGBTQ+ resources, call volume for initial intake will increase, Diana Ray of Macomb County Community Mental Health (MCCMH), a local 988 contractor, tells Axios.
- Ray estimates MCCMH takes 1,500-1,600 calls a month and guesses calls could increase by at least 100 a month.
Yes, but: Ray says the operation is working to assure adequate staffing and understanding of LGBTQ+ issues.
- "My hope is that the transition is seamless," Ray says. "I want to make sure our staff is adequately prepared."