Five months after the Trump administration shuttered a suicide and crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, Los Angeles County has launched an effort to try to create its own hotline to fill the void.
In July the Trump Administration eliminated the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s “press 3” option, which previously connected LGBTQ+ youth with specially trained counselors.
At the time, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which funds the 988 hotline, said it would not “silo LGB+ youth services” but rather focus on serving all who are seeking help.
Losing the “press 3” option has been devastating for youth struggling with mental health crises, emotional stress and suicidal ideation, said Janice Hahn, L.A. County’s District 4 supervisor whose coverage area spans Rancho Palos Verdes, Lakewood, Vernon and Whittier.
Hahn and District 3 Supervisor Lindsey Horvath led an effort to evaluate the impact of losing “press 3” and discovered that more than 14% of the 5.1 million 988 callers elected to use this option in the last year before the service was terminated.
“It wasn’t just a policy change — it was a message to LGBTQ+ young people that their needs didn’t matter,” Hahn said. “But L.A. County will not turn its back on our LGBTQ+ young people. Not now, not ever.”
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to direct the county’s Department of Mental Health to try to develop a local “press 3” pilot program.
Establishing a local program requires approval from the federal agency that eliminated the service with a formal request coming from the California Health and Human Services Agency, according to a county report.
If approved, Vibrant — the company that administers the 988 phone tree that routes callers to specialized subnetworks like the “press 3” option for LGBTQ+ trained counselors — would then restore the “press 3” option for L.A. County callers.
The county would have to then identify and fund one or more contracted crisis intervention service providers to supply the LGBTQ+ focused crisis service.
In the long term, the county has also supported adding a “press 3” option for the entire state of California through active and future legislation.
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) introduced in September the 988 LGBTQ+ Youth Access Act which would require the Department of Health and Human Services to maintain specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth and reserve no less than 9% of 988 Lifeline funds each year to sustain and strengthen those services. The legislation is being reviewed by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
