Youth's Lives Every Day
By Saurav Jung Thapa, Senior Federal Affairs Manager, The Trevor Project
This National Suicide Prevention Month, The Trevor Project is incredibly proud to commemorate two years of being the leading provider of LGBTQ Youth Specialized Services in the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
The 988 Lifeline has provided crisis services through more than 200 crisis centers to over 10 million people since its launch in 2022. LGBTQ youth specialized services — a component of 988 alongside the Veterans Crisis Line and Spanish-language services — has served a significant portion of these contacts. In 2023 alone, Trevor served over 278,000 contacts through 988, and we are on track to significantly exceed that number this year.
Why LGBTQ youth specialized services
988 LGBTQ youth specialized services are more important than ever during the current post-pandemic era in which mental health crises have multiplied. LGBTQ+ young people face elevated mental health and suicide risks that arise from societal mistreatment and stigma, as documented by our 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People. Among other concerning findings, the Survey found that 39% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide, including 46% of trans and nonbinary youth.
Strong, bipartisan majorities in the U.S. Congress helped create 988, spurred by over four years of organizing by hundreds of mental health organizations — including Trevor! We wanted to contribute to a nationwide system in which LGBTQ+ young people could directly access culturally competent and affirming providers. We also knew that a permanent national crisis service would reach millions and help move towards our mission of ending suicidality among LGBTQ+ young people.
In 2020, the bipartisan bill creating 988 passed the Democratic-controlled House before unanimously passing the Republican-controlled Senate, marking the first time an LGBTQ+ inclusive bill received unanimous support in a chamber of Congress. President Trump signed the bill into law. These actions creating 988 with specialized services for veterans, LGBTQ youth, and Spanish speakers demonstrated that addressing the nation’s mental health crisis is a bipartisan priority.
In 2022, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Vibrant Emotional Health, a mental health organization serving as a government contractor, launched the 988 Lifeline. The three-digit dialing number provides a convenient way for people facing mental health challenges to connect for free with trained counselors to receive confidential support 24/7. It arguably represents the biggest milestone for mental health services in our country for decades.
On September 28 and 29, 2022, The Trevor Project began providing Digital and Lifeline services respectively to LGBTQ+ young people as part of the 988 Lifeline. Trevor was selected as the sole provider for the pilot phase of 988 LGBTQ youth specialized services. The pilot provided an opportunity to work out kinks before the planned transition 10 months later to a multicenter subnetwork in July 2023.
In our two years so far as a 988 center, Trevor has served hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ young people. Our experience handling a high volume of contacts demonstrates that the need for 988 LGBTQ youth specialized services is great, and growing.
We can achieve much more in year three — including serving a rising number of contacts who need assistance — with continued bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress and in partnership with our partners at Vibrant and the subnetwork.
Funding, contact volume, and counselor challenges
Since launch in September 2022, contact volume for 988 LGBTQ youth specialized services has been significantly higher than anticipated. Congressionally appropriated funding for both 988 overall and for LGBTQ youth specialized services has risen each year to meet this high demand, although more is still needed (see chart below / U.S. federal fiscal years).
While the initial contacts forecast for 988 LGBTQ youth specialized services was for 10,000 calls/texts/chats per month, actual contact volume during the pilot was closer to 23,000 per month. The Trevor Project is currently serving about 50,000 contacts per month.
The LGBTQ youth subnetwork is serving approximately 10% of all 988 contact volume while receiving slightly less than 6.5% of overall 988 funding ($33.1M out of $520M in FY24; see chart above).
A call to action for the next two years
In commemoration of National Suicide Prevention Month, broad community engagement is critical to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention. We call on all of The Trevor Project’s supporters, staff, and volunteers to spread the word about the life-saving service provided by the 988 Lifeline and its LGBTQ Youth Specialized Services. Please share this blog and share our 988 social posts (on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook).
At Trevor, our 988 counselors and the entire organization are celebrating the milestone that is the two-year anniversary of LGBTQ youth specialized services. But we will not rest until every LGBTQ+ young person across our country has the support they need to lead a healthy and fulfilling life, including knowing that 988 is a resource available 24/7 that is staffed by trained and affirming counselors.
Over the next two years, we will be hard at work garnering even more support for LGBTQ+ young people. The Trevor Project specifically calls for the following:
- The Biden-Harris Administration, bipartisan appropriators in Congress, and state governments should significantly increase their investments to expand and improve 988, including LGBTQ youth specialized services.
- Mental health and LGBTQ+ movement partners, bipartisan leaders in Congress and states, the Biden-Harris Administration, Vibrant, and the subnetwork should continue to actively improve, innovate, and expand 988 LGBTQ youth specialized services.
Congressional appropriators and mental health champions should prioritize and fund counselor wellbeing support across the entire 988 Lifeline network. There has been an unacceptably high volume of prank calls, aggression, vulgarity, hate speech, and sexual gratification contacts when providing 988 LGBTQ youth specialized services. We know the work that 988 counselors do is needed and difficult and they need greater support to continue this work.
