The Trump administration has removed the "Press 3 option" from the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline. The "Press 3 option" was available since 2022 for LGBTQ+ callers looking to speak with a mental health provider specializing in LGBTQ+ mental health care. The service will be shut down formally on July 17.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said it was ending the service to "focus on all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option."
The statement also said that the hotline will "no longer silo" what it called "LGB+ services," notably missing the T.
"I am devastated and heartbroken," said Jaymes Black, CEO of advocacy organization The Trevor Project, in a video posted to Instagram. "Half a million LGBTQ young people reached out to 988 last year and pressed 3," Black said. "They found trained hearts waiting to help." Black described the "lifeline" for youths in crisis as being "cut" by SAMHSA.
The Trevor Project was the contracted third party used by the hotline to provide the "press 3 option."
In its statement, SAMHSA noted that the federally allocated $33 million for the option in 2024 was entirely spent by June 2025. It describes the funds as having gone to "support the subnetworks" of the service.
"Your life has meaning," Black said in the video, speaking to LGBTQ+ youth. "You are our future, and we will never stop fighting for you."
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