SAMHSA terminates the 988 Lifeline's LGBTQ+ youth specialized service ("Press 3")
Funding action / Program terminationSAMHSA
- Date
- Actor
- SAMHSA / HHS
- Agency
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- Type
- Funding action / Program termination
Summary
SAMHSA ordered the shutdown of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services (the "Press 3" option, "PRIDE" text line, and dedicated chat), announced in mid-June 2025 and effective July 17, 2025. The service — delivered by The Trevor Project and six other contractors — had handled roughly 1.5 million contacts since 2022, with about 70,000 contacts in April 2025 alone. SAMHSA said the Lifeline would "no longer silo LGB+ youth services" (dropping the "T" in its statement); states and philanthropies scrambled to backfill specialized coverage.
Status
Terminated; not restored. Congressional efforts to restart the service (fall 2025) had not succeeded as of August 2026.
As recorded in the data of . Check the sources for anything newer.
Sources
- kffhealthnews.org/mental-health/988-suicide-crisis-lifeline-hotline-lgbtq-press…(opens another site)
- cnn.com/2025/07/17/health/988-lgbtq-youth-services-end-wellness(opens another site)
- samhsa.gov/about/news-announcements/statements/2025/samhsa-statement-988-press-…(opens another site)
- thetrevorproject.org/blog/trump-administration-orders-termination-of-national-l…(opens another site)