Suicide hotline workers at the Trevor Project condemn cuts to LGBTQ+ crisis services

Union workers employed by the Trevor Project condemned a decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to end funding for specialized suicide hotline services for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults. When LGBTQ+ young people in crisis call or text 988, they are connected to counselors who are trained to address their unique needs. Workers at the Trevor Project, represented by CWA Local 1180, handle nearly half of those contacts.

“The decision to shut down LGTBQ+ crisis services in the middle of the fiscal year – announced during Pride month – is a deliberate provocation and a despicable attack on LGBTQ+ workers and the community,” said Gloria Middleton, president of CWA Local 1180. “CWA members provide vital, live-saving services for kids who need our help. Our union stands united behind the Trevor Project workers and the LGTBQ+ community that they serve.”

While the Trevor Project will continue to operate a helpline for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults, the 988 Lifeline has greater public awareness. Over the past three years, the 988 LGBTQ+ program has assisted over 1.3 million young people.

“As a collective, we are devastated by Trump cutting the LGBTQ+ youth line,” said Jack Hanson, a 988 Lifeline Crisis Counselor. “This executive action serves as a death sentence to many in this demographic. We want to emphasize that LGBTQ+ youth deserve to be affirmed in who they are and that they deserve to live meaningful lives. We also wish to say this includes all categories of this community, including trans and queer youth, who the Trump Administration had ignorantly excluded from its initial announcement. Despite the line closure, we will always be dedicated to protecting this population in spite of the hatred, hostility, and cruelty of the Trump administration. We urge supporters to contact their members of Congress and Senators to urge them to restore funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services.”

Union workers at the Trevor Project are protected by a collective bargaining agreement  that includes guaranteed severance pay in the event of layoffs. 

The national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline launched in 2022 and has provided specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth, who are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers. The suicide prevention line has bipartisan support, created through an act of Congress as the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, and signed into law by President Donald Trump in October, 2020.

Links:

Suicide hotline workers condemn cuts to LGBTQ+ crisis services (June 20, 2025)

Trump ends funding for LGBTQ youth option on national suicide hotline (BBC, June 19, 2025)