California to provide LGBTQ suicide prevention hotline after Trump administration axes it

Molly Gibbs, The Mercury News on Jul 16, 2025

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California will partner with the Trevor Project to provide suicide prevention support to LGBTQ+ youth, state officials announced Wednesday. The announcement comes weeks after the Trump administration said it will no longer provide national suicide and crisis hotline services to LGBTQ+ youth.

“While the Trump administration continues its attacks on LGBTQ kids, California has a message to the gay community: we see you and we’re here for you,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “We’re proud to work with the Trevor Project to ensure that every person in our state can get the support they need to live a happy, healthy life.”

LGBTQ+ youth are particularly vulnerable to suicide risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society, said the California-based Trevor Project, a leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group.

The Trevor Project started providing specialized support to LGBTQ+ youth through the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in September 2022. Known as the “Press 3 option,” the service connects LGBTQ+ youth and young adults under 25 with a trained counselor. Since its launch in 2022, the “Press 3” line has connected more than 1.5 million people in crisis with resources.

The Trevor Project served as the sole provider for the pilot phase of 988 LGBTQ+ youth specialized services before transitioning to serve as one of seven centers that currently make up the LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork.

The group said it served more than 231,000 crisis contacts in 2024 and trained and supported nearly 250 staff members and counselors to support the hotline.

But last month, the Trump administration announced that as of July 17, it would no longer provide the “Press 3 option” for “LGB+ youth” — omitting the “T” for transgender — on the national mental health hotline in order to “focus on serving all help seekers.” The administration said federal funding for the service included $29.7 million for the 2023 fiscal year and $33 million for the 2024 fiscal year.

“This is devastating, to say the least,” Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black said last month of the decision. “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics. The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.”

California said Wednesday the Trevor Project will train the state’s 988 crisis counselors on how to support LGBTQ youth. The state said 12 national call centers are currently staffed across California with counselors trained to respond to callers needing support during suicide and behavioral health crises.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed suicide as the second leading cause of death among youth aged 10 to 14 and the third leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 24 in 2022. The Trevor Project’s 2024 national survey on the mental health of LGBTQ young people found that 39% of LGBTQ+ youth had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including roughly half of transgender and nonbinary youth. The survey also found that half of LGBTQ+ youth who reported wanting mental health care were unable to get it.

Since the pandemic, California has made youth mental health resources a key priority. The state began an overhaul of California’s mental health system in 2022, with a $4.7 billion investment into expanding resources and increasing access to services to Californians aged 0-25.

Additional mental health support available to California youth include the California’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, which offers behavioral health services and supports for children, youth and families. The initiative also provides targeted services for LGBTQ+ youth, including expanding community spaces, increasing workforce supports and raising awareness about suicide prevention.

“There could not be a more stark reminder of the moral bankruptcy of this administration than cutting off suicide prevention resources for LGBTQ youth,” said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “No matter what this administration throws at us, I know this state will always meet cruelty with kindness and stand up for what’s right.”

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