The federal government of the United States of America is trying to kill my people.
I’m aware that sentence may sound overblown or hysterical, but I honestly don’t know how else I am supposed to interpret the following: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees the national suicide prevention hotline, instructed the hotline to stop offering specialized support to young LGBTQ callers next month, saying those callers can rely instead on the hotline’s general services.
The Trevor Project, the nonprofit that until now provided those specialized LGBTQ services, received a stop-work order for July 17. The budget cut amounts to about $26 million. For reference, in 2024, Trevor Project counselors helped about 231,000 calls that came through the 988 line. To add insult to injury, SAMHSA, in its statement, did not use the acronym “LGBTQ” (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer).
It used “LGB+.”
You might be forgiven if you saw that plus sign as a letter T, but it’s not a letter T and that is by design. The acronym “LGB” is often used by hate groups that don’t think transgender people should exist. Like they don’t count. Like they aren’t real.
The SAMHSA statement says it will no longer “silo” those services and will just fold them into general calls. That’s bull. The LGBTQ community requires specialized services and training with counselors who understand us, the same as veterans. (The Trump administration is not eliminating the specialty line for veterans’ support — I guess it’s OK if that remains siloed. Not sure what happens if a gay veteran calls in for help.)
The White House Office of Management and Budget has described the hotline’s LGBTQ services as encouraging the embrace of “radical gender ideology.” Again, this is a suicide hotline. If telling someone “being gay or transgender is OK, please don’t kill yourself” is radical gender ideology, I’m a faithful practitioner.
One day after this announcement, the Supreme Court ruled that states can ban gender-affirming medical care for people under 18. This means that teenagers who are going to be forced by their government to go through puberty in the wrong body now have one less place to turn for help coping with that horror.
The government is actively making rules that will increase suicidality in vulnerable people, especially young people. According to the CDC, suicide is the second leading cause of death for people aged 10-14 years and 25-34 years, outranked only by accidents. It’s the third leading cause of death for the age group 15-24, after homicide, but only by a few hundred deaths.
Perhaps with this realignment of priorities by the hotline administrators, suicide will be back in the #2 spot for ages 15-24 by this time next year. It certainly seems to me that’s what conservatives and religious zealots want. It’s quite clear that that group, led by the federal government, wants queer people out of society, and doesn’t much care how it happens. If we go back in the closet, great. If we’re dead, so much the better, I presume.
The Trevor Project still runs its own hotline, and anyone can — and should — call it at 1-866-488-7386.
Removing it from the 988 hotline makes the service harder to access. The reason 988 was invented was to have a mental health version of 911, a simple, easy-to-remember number to call in case of emergency. Now, it’s like being told to call 911 for an ambulance … unless if you are having cardiovascular symptoms. You’ll need to call a different number to get EMTs trained in cardiovascular emergencies. And by helping you survive your heart attack, those EMTs are committing an act of radical ideology. And the government cut their funding. (OK, that part is also true for real EMTs.)
A suicide hotline is often the last step before a cliff edge. If you’re standing on that step, there’s still a chance for you turn around and make your way back to safety. The Trump administration wants to remove that step for queer people. People like me.
I’ve been lucky enough never to deal with suicidal thoughts or impulses, probably partly because I grew up in a supportive community and never once received a negative word about my sexuality or gender. Also, I’m a grown-up now, and my brain is developed enough to cope with the fact that millions of my fellow Americans don’t think I should exist in the way that I do. It’s especially hard for children and teenagers to cope with that existential horror. It is difficult, sometimes impossible, to live in a world where you’re on the receiving end of hatred and derision for no reason other than the gender you present as or the gender you’re attracted to.
I’ve lost family members to suicide. I’ve driven friends to the emergency room in a crisis. I’ve slept overnight on couches to make sure nobody does anything drastic. I’ve summoned mobile crisis counselors from Sweetser in both personal and professional capacities. This decision by the Trump administration will kill people. People just like me.