Trump reopened an LGBTQ+ suicide hotline. But the department that runs it vows to ‘restore biological truth’

‘While we can’t directly speak to what the new services look like, we know from our nearly 30 years of providing crisis intervention services for LGBTQ+ youth that best-practice care requires continuous improvement and clear standards.’ Photograph: Michael Siluk/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

For nearly three years, counselors through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for LGBTQ+ individuals answered more than 1.5m calls, texts and online chats – until the Trump administration terminated it in July 2025. But now, more than a year later, the service is back online.

The federal agency that oversees the lifeline, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Samhsa), shuttered the specialized national lifeline service known as the “press 3” option for financial reasons last year, though critics cited political motivations. After pressure from activists, LGBTQ+ organizations, and politicians, Congress approved legislation to allocate more than $33m to services for queer youth, including to the specialized lifeline. While suicide prevention and LGBTQ+ rights groups celebrate the reinstatement, details about the rollout and how the counselors will be trained remain shrouded in secrecy.