Sharice Davids leads call to restore suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ youths

Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, led a bipartisan call to restore a federal suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth after the federal government ended the program.

The federally funded suicide hotline, accessed via the number 988, added the option to speak to a counselor specializing in LGBTQ youth in 2022. The pilot program cost $33 million a year and was operated in conjunction with The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that focuses on suicide prevention for LGBTQ youths.

"Now I've about three minutes to deliver my remarks, by the time I'm done at least four LGBTQ+ young people will have attempted to take their own lives. By the time this press conference is over that number jumps to 40," said Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black at a press conference.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced that it would terminate the program on June 17, and July 17 marked the last day it was operational. The administration stated it was due to budget constraints.

"On July 17, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will no longer silo LGB+ youth services, also known as the 'Press 3 option,' to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the press 3 option," SAMHSA said in a press release. "As of June 2025, more than $33 million in funds have been spent to support the subnetworks, fully expending the monies allocated for 988 Lifeline LGB+ subnetwork services."

At a press conference July 17, Davids led a bipartisan press conference outside of Congress to advocate for the restoration of the lifeline.

"This isn't just a phone line. This isn't politics. This is people, and it's a lot of young people. It's people who are trying to survive in a world that tells them that they don't belong and that they shouldn't be here," she said.

Davids was joined by seven other members of Congress, including one Republican, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York.

"All of us here are not going to agree on every aspect of these issues, but what we should agree on, and what we must agree on, is that when a child is in crisis, when they are alone, when they are afraid, when they are unsure of where to turn, where they are contemplating suicide, they need access to help right away," Lawler said.

Press 3 option already under threat

Though the abrupt end to the line was announcedr a month ago, a leaked budget proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services cut funding from the program after Sept. 30.

The National Suicide Hotline has existed since 2005 but was reformed with The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, signed into law in October 2020 by President Donald Trump. It changed the number from a 1-800 to the simpler 988 and directed Health and Human Services to develop a strategy to reach "high-risk populations such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth; minorities; and rural populations," according to the bill summary.

"It's hard to find the words today. Our country's federal government — including the very agency in charge of protecting our mental health — cut a literal lifeline that has provided 1.5 million LGBTQ+ youth with suicide prevention services. It is unfathomable," Black said in a press release July 17.

The Trevor Project will continue to operate its hotline for LGBTQ youth at 1-866-488-7386, a text line at 678-678 and a digital messaging service through its website.