U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8) has joined two other U.S. representatives in opposing cuts that would eliminate the national LGBTQ+ youth suicide hotline.
Krishnamoorthi, along with U.S. Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Seth Moulton (D-MA), sent a letter June 25 to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., urging him to reverse the department’s decision to discontinue the specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth amid budget cuts.
“Discontinuing this service would be a dangerous step backward and would send a devastating message to LGBTQ+ young people across the country, that their needs are not seen, their lives are not valued and that support will not be there in their darkest hour,” the letter states.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term, and the specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth, also known as the “Press 3 option,” were introduced as a pilot program in September 2022. By March 2023, the program had been expanded to a full hotline with 24/7 availability.
Since then, the service has provided support in more than 1.3 million calls, texts and chats, averaging about 2,100 contacts daily as of February 2025, according to Krishnamoorthi’s letter.
“These numbers reflect the critical, ongoing demand for this targeted support,” the letter states. “To a young person feeling alone and scared, 988 is truly a lifeline.”
The bipartisan letter closes with the congressmen urging HHS to maintain the staffing, infrastructure and funding necessary to continue the service.
“Cutting this crisis line is not just a policy decision; it’s a moral failure,” Krishnamoorthi said. “We have a duty to protect every young person in crisis, and ending this service would abandon LGBTQ+ youth at the exact moment they need us most.”
The congressmen join a swath of LGBTQ+ leaders in opposing the cuts, including Precious Brady-Davis, a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioner who told WTTW the Trump administration will have “blood on its hands and we’re not going to stand for it.”
Jaymes Black, CEO of the Trevor Project, which was initially the sole provider of the youth-specialized service, called the cuts “devastating” in a June 18 statement.
“Suicide prevention is about people, not politics,” Black said. “The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.
Now, the Trevor Project is one of seven centers that make up the hotline’s subnetwork. But that could come to an end on July 17 if the cuts are withheld.
Black said the Trevor Project will remain committed to supporting young LGBTQ+ people in times of mental health crises, and its counselors will still be available 24/7 independent of the hotline.
Additionally, LGBTQ+ youth can still reach out to the general 988 Lifeline to be connected with crisis counselors who can help with suicidality, substance misuse, mental health crises or any other kinds of emotional distress, according to a statement from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.