States and mental health organizations are bracing for the closure of a specialized service within 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, for LGBTQ youth on Thursday under orders from the Trump administration amid its broader spending cuts and the dismantling of programs dedicated to diversity and inclusion.

“When the line goes silent, there are a lot of open questions that we’re trying to prepare for,” said Mark Henson, vice president of government affairs at the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization that responds to roughly half of 988’s calls and text messages from LGBTQ young people.

The group, which has worked to improve youth mental health outcomes since 1998, launched an “emergency lifeline campaign” following the announcement from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) last month that 988 would “no longer silo” LGBTQ youth services beginning July 17.

Funds raised through the campaign will help the Trevor Project continue “to protect and support LGBTQ young people in the face of significant funding losses,” according to the group’s website, including by hiring new crisis counselors in anticipation of surges in demand, as well as maintaining existing staffing.

Federal funding has allowed the Trevor Project to double its capacity in the three years since the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline formally launched in 2022, said Henson.

President Trump signed the bipartisan National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which established 9-8-8 as the universal phone number for mental health emergencies, in 2020, shortly before leaving office.

The bill that Trump signed acknowledged disproportionately high suicide rates among young LGBTQ Americans. It tasked SAHMSA with recommending how to best help “callers who are LGBTQ youth, minorities, rural individuals, or members of other high-risk populations” access competent, specialized services.

In a 2024 Trevor Project report, 39........

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