988 LGBTQ+ Hotline Relaunch: Trevor Project May Be Excluded

The Trump administration is moving to restart the specialized LGBTQ+ youth crisis option for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by the end of 2026, after abruptly shutting it down in July 2025. However, the organization that helped pioneer the service — the Trevor Project — may be excluded from operating the relaunched hotline, according to AP News.

The 988 Lifeline, often described as “911 for mental health emergencies,” offers specialized options for veterans, Spanish speakers, and previously LGBTQ+ youth through its “Press 3” feature. The umbrella of services broadly called the “Press 3” option fielded 1.6 million contacts while it was in operation, with the Trevor Project handling approximately half of all program traffic.

Background: A Service Shut Down and Ordered Restored

The specialized LGBTQ+ youth option launched nationally in September 2022 after Congress authorized LGBTQ+ youth support within the 988 system. The service allowed young people to press 3, text “PRIDE,” or use online chat to reach counselors specially trained to work with LGBTQ+ young people.

In July 2025, the Trump administration terminated the service with one month’s notice, citing funding exhaustion. The decision drew sharp criticism from mental health experts, LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

Congress responded by directing $33 million toward LGBTQ+-specific youth interventions in fiscal year 2026 funding legislation, mandating restoration of the service. As The Guardian reported, the administration is now working to bring the service back by the end of the year.

The Eligibility Catch-22

The central controversy revolves around a procedural paradox. Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit that administers the 988 network, has called for applications to manage the relaunched “Press 3” lines. But applications are limited to crisis centers that are “current and active” members of the 988 network — a status the Trevor Project lost only because the administration canceled the specialized service it operated.

Six other crisis centers that worked on the LGBTQ+ youth program remain active in the 988 network. However, they serve the general population alongside LGBTQ+ people, whereas the Trevor Project had an exclusive mission dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention.

Dr. Christine Yu Moutier, chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, told AP News that it “would not make sense” to keep the Trevor Project ineligible, describing it as a “long-standing, high-quality and trusted resource” to LGBTQ+ people.

Political and Clinical Tensions

The relaunch is further complicated by the administration’s requirement that the restored service comply with Trump Executive Order 14168, which recognizes only two sexes and rejects federal recognition of transgender identities. Christopher Carroll, SAMHSA’s principal deputy assistant secretary, wrote in a letter to lawmakers that the agency is “currently assessing the most appropriate approach to implementing this congressional directive … while ensuring compliance with Executive Order 14168,” as reported by The Advocate.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), who received the SAMHSA letter, pushed back, arguing that “executive orders cannot override federal law, and Congress already settled this question: the Trump Administration must restore these services, including for transgender young people.”

Jaymes Black, CEO of the Trevor Project, expressed concern that the relaunched service “may exclude transgender and nonbinary youth entirely.” Black warned that “politics has no place in suicide prevention” and that the administration’s executive order “rejects these youth entirely; they cannot be supported if they are not included.”

Stakes for LGBTQ+ Youth

The debate unfolds against a backdrop of severe mental health disparities. A 2024 CDC analysis found that 26% of transgender and gender-questioning students attempted suicide in the past year, compared with 5% of cisgender male and 11% of cisgender female students. Trevor Project data from 2025 indicates that 36% of LGBTQ+ young people and 40% of transgender and nonbinary young people seriously considered suicide in the past year.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who has led a bipartisan push to restore the service, called on the president to restore the “Press 3” option “without needless limitations and with the most qualified, experienced people answering the phone calls and text messages from these vulnerable young people.”

What’s Next

The administration has set a target of end of 2026 for the “Press 3” relaunch, but key questions remain unanswered. It is unclear whether the Trevor Project will ultimately be allowed to participate, how the administration will reconcile the congressional mandate with Executive Order 14168, and whether transgender and nonbinary youth will be explicitly included in the restored service.

Dr. Moutier captured the uncertainty facing the relaunch: “I think there’s the potential for great good, and some harm as well.”