The Trump administration has formally confirmed plans to eliminate federal funding for a “life-saving” prevention service dedicated to LGBTQ+ young people, sparking outrage among advocates and mental health experts.
The proposed cut, first leaked in April, has now been publicly confirmed through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026. The department, currently led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has outlined that the specialised LGBTQ+ services under the 988 Help & Crisis Lifeline will be defunded from 1 October 2025.
The dedicated LGBTQ+ line was launched in July 2022 and has since supported over 1.3 million at-risk young people. It provides confidential crisis intervention support to LGBTQ+ individuals under the age of 18, connecting them with affirming and trained professionals in times of urgent need.
🗣️ “Now Is the Time to Act”
Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project — one of the leading LGBTQ+ mental health organisations in the United States — condemned the funding cut as dangerously short-sighted.
“We do not have to agree on every policy issue to agree that every young American’s life is worth saving,” Black said. “It is deeply upsetting to see the administration reverse course on an evidence-backed, bipartisan program that has successfully provided life-saving crisis care to 1.3 million LGBTQ+ young people, and counting.”
Black added, “In a nation where our children’s tears fall without distinction of how they identify, we must rise with one voice — across every faith, every belief, and every political line. Now is the time to act.”
The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ youth in the U.S. seriously consider suicide each year, with one attempting suicide every 45 seconds.
🚨 Mental Health Experts Urge Reconsideration
John MacPhee, CEO of The Jed Foundation, also criticised the decision, urging lawmakers to reverse the proposed defunding.
“We urge lawmakers and administration officials to reconsider this proposal and to maintain these services that were carefully considered and wisely codified into law in 2020,” he said.
Advocates stress that the 988 Lifeline — particularly its LGBTQ+ component — has become a vital lifeline for vulnerable teens experiencing mental health crises, especially in an increasingly hostile political climate.
While the HHS budget proposal is not yet final, the signal from the administration is clear: dedicated federal support for LGBTQ+ youth in crisis may be withdrawn unless Congress intervenes.
Mental health and LGBTQ+ rights organisations are now mobilising campaigns to protect the service and urge lawmakers to preserve its funding.
