BOSTON — Mental health advocates are denouncing the elimination of the LGBTQ youth suicide prevention hotline.
The Trump administration shut down the “press 3 option” for LGBTQ youth on the national 988 suicide hotline starting Thursday.
Funding for the program was eliminated last month by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson told Boston 25 News that the government has spent $33 million on the “Press 3” option for LGBTQ youth, which ran out of congressionally directed funding.
“Continued operation of Press 3 would have required SAMHSA to reallocate funds away from supporting the main 988 Lifeline, thereby compromising the entire system,” said a statement from an HHS spokesperson.
The Trevor Project studies show 39% of LGBTQ+ young people in Massachusetts considered suicide in the past year, and 11% admitted to attempting suicide.
A monthly average of 580 callers in Massachusetts pressed “3” to choose the dedicated support line last year.
“Young people are going to die because of this,” said Sean Cahill, Director of Health Policy and Research at Fenway Institute. “It’s devastating.”
Fenway Health in Boston provides care to 35,000 patients, and about half of them identify as LGBTQ, including youth patients.
“We have data from our State Department of Public Health that shows 23 percent of high school students in Massachusetts either identify as LGBT or are questioning their identity,” said Cahill.
Congressman Seth Moulton is not mincing words about the discontinuation of LGBTQ-specific support for youth on the 988 hotline he sponsored the creation of.
“Apparently, they care more about making a political point, aggressively asserting their anti-LGBTQ ideology rather than saving American lives,” Moulton told Boston 25 News. “Right now, the Trump administration is on a rampage.”
According to the Trevor Project, 1.3 million LGBTQ+ children have called the dedicated number since its inception three years ago.
“I already, in many ways, am beginning to mourn the loss of lives that we know we will see because of this cut,” said Mason Dunn, a trans advocate and educator in Massachusetts. “The trend of eliminating LGBTQ+ visibility is an alarming and dangerous trend.”
The elimination of the life-saving hotline happened on the same week that Senate Republicans reached an agreement with the White House to preserve funding for a flagship global HIV and AIDS relief program known as PEPFAR.
GOP leaders took out the proposed $400 million cut following sharp opposition.
PEPFAR was launched in 2003 by President George W. Bush and is widely considered one of America’s most impactful programs in Africa.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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