Trump admin rejects The Trevor Project from restored LGBTQ+ 988 crisis lifeline it helped build

The Trevor Project spent years helping build the federal crisis service for LGBTQ+ young people and handled roughly half of all calls, texts, and chats routed through it. Now, as the Trump administration prepares to reinstate the service it abruptly discontinued last year, the organization has been told it will not be included.The LGBTQ+ suicide prevention nonprofit told The Advocate Wednesday that its proposal to join the restored 988 Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services network, commonly known as “Press 3,” was formally rejected. In other words, the federal government is rebuilding a specialized crisis service without the organization that piloted it, served as its first provider, and has nearly three decades of experience supporting LGBTQ+ young people.Related: Trump administration finalizes plan to eliminate LGBTQ+ 988 crisis services during WorldPride“The 988 Lifeline administrators informed us that The Trevor Project’s proposal to join the restored ‘Press 3’ LGBTQ+ youth specialized services was rejected,” Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black said in a statement to The Advocate. “The exclusion of our nearly 30 years of expertise is of course disappointing.”Black said the organization remains committed to ensuring that the restored service follows clinical best practices for all LGBTQ+ young people, “including and especially transgender youth,” who face disproportionately high suicide risk.That concern is sharpened, Black said, by the administration’s requirement that Press 3 comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order directing the federal government not to recognize transgender identities.Related: These crisis hotlines are still available for LGBTQ+ youth after Trump ends special 988 services“No matter what, The Trevor Project’s own 24/7 crisis lines remain available to directly support any LGBTQ+ young person in crisis, just as they always have,” Black said. “Our team of experts has already begun working to tra