LGBT+ crisis hotlines have been inundated with phone calls from young people distressed by Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US presidential election, according to reports.
The Trevor Project, a nonprofit collective dedicated to supporting queer youths and preventing suicide, revealed it had experienced a nearly 200 percent increase in conversations with election-related keywords such as “election” and “rights.”
“In just the past few days, The Trevor Project has seen a nearly 200 percent increase in conversation topics related to the election across our 24/7 crisis services,” said Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, in a press release. “While alarming, we are not surprised to see that the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ politics of the past few years continue to harm young people’s mental health.”
The organization also reported that 90 percent of LGBT+ young people said their well-being was negatively impacted due to the election. Meanwhile, The Rainbow Youth Project – a nonprofit that advocates for the health, safety, and wellness of queer young people – told the Washington Post it had received more than 3,810 calls this month, surpassing its monthly average of 3,765 in the span of six days.
Other groups supporting the LGBT+ community, such as OneIowa, said it had experienced an increase in emails and messages as well.
The many fears plaguing the LGBT+ community are well-founded considering Trump has repeatedly espoused misinformation surrounding gender-affirming care for transgender people. The former president has falsely stated that children are the subject of “brutal” gender operations at schools across the US, and has called gender-affirming healthcare “child abuse” and “child sexual mutilation.”
Throughout his reelection campaign, Trump has promised to revoke federal policies that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as pledged to use the federal government to “stop” gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
Meanwhile, Republicans have spent more than $120m in anti-trans attack ads since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, making it the biggest target in Trump’s ad dollars.
These attacks against transgender people and the entire LGBT+ community have already resulted in near-fatal consequences; the Trevor Project reported that anti-trans legislation has increased suicide attempts among transgender youth by as much as 72 percent. The non-profit estimated that more than 1.8m LGBT+ young adults between the ages of 13 and 24 seriously consider suicide each year in the US.
“The current political environment in the US is heavy, but it is so important for LGBTQ+ young people to know that they do not have to shoulder this weight alone,” said Black.
The Trevor Project helpline is available 24/7 in the US over the phone at 1-866-488-7386 or via text message at 678-678. If you are based in the US and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. In the UK, people having mental health crises can contact the Samaritans at 116 123 or jo@samaritans.org.
