988 crisis line restores “press 3” specialized support for LGBTQ+ youth

The 988 suicide crisis line has restored the “Press 3” option connecting LGBTQ+ youth to targeted support services, more than a year after the Trump administration cut off the program (Source: “988 crisis line restores LGBTQ+ youth specialized support,” Los Angeles Times, Oct. 1).
 
Starting Sept. 30, people who call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline are once again able to connect directly with counselors trained to support youth who are LGBTQ+. The lifeline began offering the "Press 3" option in 2022 in partnership with the Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention for queer and trans youth.
 
A bipartisan Health and Human Services funding bill passed in January required the administration to restore the LGBTQ+ youth support option.
 
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced last year that it would “no longer silo LGB+ youth services” from the general hotline, starting in July 2025. The usual “T” in the acronym that stands for “transgender” was conspicuously absent from the announcement, following an executive order signed earlier that year declaring that federal agencies can recognize only two sexes that are “not changeable.”
 
Along with veterans, people who are LGBTQ+ are one of two groups known to be at higher risk for suicide and are offered the option to connect with specially trained counselors when they contact the 988 lifeline. Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning or transgender are more than four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight, cisgender peers, according to the Trevor Project.
 
More than 1.3 million queer young people in the U.S. used the “Press 3” service between its launch in 2022 and suspension in July 2025. The option for veterans, who die by suicide at 1.5 times the rate of peers in the general population, was not affected by the SAMHSA policy change.