Administration Plans Restart of 988 LGBTQ Youth Hotline Option by End of 2026, Limited to Active Network Members

The Trump administration is working to restart the specialized LGBTQ+ youth option for the 988 crisis hotline by the end of 2026, ABC News reported. The effort follows the termination of the “press 3” service in July 2026 after one month’s notice, which the administration attributed to exhausted funding.

Congress directed officials to allocate $33 million toward LGBTQ+-specific interventions for youth.

Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit that administers the 988 service, has issued a call for applications to manage the relaunched lines, but eligibility is restricted to crisis centers that are current and active members of the 988 network. The Trevor Project, which handled about half of the program’s traffic, is not currently an active member.

The specialized option fielded 1.6 million contacts while operating, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration data.

Six other crisis centers that participated remain active in the network. A SAMHSA leader wrote this month to Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi that the agency must determine the most appropriate approach to restart the service while complying with a Trump executive order on transgender rights.

The Trevor Project independently operates its own 24-7 crisis line for LGBTQ+ young people. A 2024 CDC analysis found that 26% of transgender and gender-questioning students attempted suicide in the past year, compared with 5% of cisgender male students and 11% of cisgender female students.