This week, the Trump Administration’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that, effective July 17, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will no longer offer the “Press 3” option—a dedicated pathway that previously routed LGBTQ-identifying youth to a separate network of crisis counselors.
SAMHSA is finally ending the dangerous and divisive practice of separating callers by sexual identity—and instead reinforcing what the 988 line was always meant to be: a universal lifeline for everyone in crisis.
In a rare move that we support, SAMHSA’s official statement explains that the specialized LGBTQ subnetwork, launched as a pilot in 2022 and funded to the tune of over $33 million by June 2025, has now expended its earmarked federal funding. They claim all future calls will be handled by trained counselors, regardless of identity, with an emphasis on compassion and care for all.
As discussed in this video, the “Press 3” option was never just about crisis care. It was about creating a backdoor for identity-based ideology to take priority over sound, equal mental health services. It signaled to our youth that their worth or the quality of care they received was somehow linked to their sexuality or gender identity. And worse, it pushed a narrative that mainstream mental health services were “unsafe” for anyone who didn’t check the right identity boxes.
This has been part of a broader effort to isolate and indoctrinate vulnerable children under the guise of “affirming care.” This funding has been funneled to organizations like The Trevor Project, which is a LGBTQ activist organization that pushes for policies and services that undermine parents and confuse vulnerable children.
Let’s not forget: the federal government poured millions into building a parallel, ideologically driven system that excluded parents, encouraged gender confusion, and subtly suggested that the only safe space for LGBTQ-identifying youth was one that reinforced their identity first and addressed their mental health second. We were told this was about suicide prevention, but the evidence never backed that up. If anything, the “Press 3” subnetwork may have deepened confusion and alienation by prioritizing labels over healing.
And while mainstream media outlets and progressive organizations are already crying foul—accusing SAMHSA of “targeting queer youth”—the reality is, this shift finally returns the 988 line to what it should’ve been all along: a lifeline for everyone. Period.
No special access. No gatekeeping based on identity politics. Just real help for real people in real crisis.
To be clear: every person experiencing a mental health emergency deserves support, love, and life-saving intervention. But separating and categorizing people based on sexuality or gender does the opposite of inclusion. It reinforces the very stigma they claim to fight.
This decision is a win for sanity. A win for equal treatment. And a rare moment of accountability for how your taxpayer dollars are spent.
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