ICYMI: Shapiro Administration ‘Steps in to Help LGBTQ+ Youth After Trump Administration Cancels Crisis Line’ | Department of Human Services | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, PA - Governor Josh Shapiro is stepping up where the Trump Administration is backing down in protecting LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians. The Governor recently directed the Department of Human Services (DHS) to work with Pennsylvania's 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline call centers to provide tailored support and resources that help LGBTQ+ populations that are especially at risk of suicide.

Due to a change made by the Trump Administration, callers to 988 can no longer connect directly to the Trevor Project's LGBTQ+ Suicide Lifeline by calling 988 and pressing 3. When the federal government chose to cruelly cut these direct suicide crisis services for the LGBTQ+ community, Governor Shapiro took action and directed his Administration to train 988 operators on how to help LGBTQ+ callers.

DHS' Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) worked in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson University to facilitate LGBTQ+ clinical trainings for all of Pennsylvania's fourteen 988 call centers. The training included trauma-informed care, details on the prevalence of suicidality and behavioral health crises among LGBTQ+ youth, and information on how LGBTQ+ youth identify themselves.

Callers to 988 do not have to identify as LGBTQ+ when calling 988; however, the 988 call centers have information and resources to serve this population as needed. The Trevor Project's Lifeline can also still be reached independently of 988, via 1-866-488-7386.

See what Pennsylvanians are reading and watching about the Shapiro Administration's efforts to protect LGBTQ+ youth:

ABC27: Pennsylvania training staff after Trump cuts LGBTQ suicide hotline

PennLive: Pa. steps in to help LGBTQ+ youth after Trump administration cancels crisis line

Two months ago the Trump administration terminated the national crisis line program aimed at preventing suicide among LGBTQ+ young people.

Until it was halted, LGBTQ+ people under 25 who were in crisis could dial the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and "press 3″ or "text PRIDE" to reach a counselor to get help. Individuals were then connected to trained staff at The Trevor Project, a national LGBTQ+ crisis intervention, advocacy and education organization.

But on July 17, the Trump administration pulled the plug on the help line, saying the LGBTQ+ program had run out of funds appropriated by Congress and that funding would have had to be redirected from another part of the 988 crisis line program for it to continue.

"Our country's federal government - including the very agency in charge of protecting our mental health - cut a literal lifeline that has provided 1.5 million LGBTQ+ youth with suicide prevention services. It is unfathomable," said Jaymes Black, CEO of the Trevor Project, who accused the government of playing politics with young people's lives.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat who wrote the bipartisan legislation in 2022 that created the 988 line, told NPR in July that the move was part of an ongoing attack by the administration on the LGBTQ+ community.

Since its creation three years ago during the Biden administration, the 988 line has provided services to anyone in crisis but developed targeted counseling for certain high-risk groups, including veterans and LGBTQ+ youth, according to The Trevor Project.

Now the Shapiro administration has stepped in to help those in Pennsylvania's LGBTQ+ community who are in crisis by providing special training to staff at 14 call centers and setting up its own connection to The Trevor Project.

"When you call or text 988, you will get no judgment, just help," Department of Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh wrote in a post on X on Wednesday, which was World Suicide Prevention Day.

"DHS has worked collaboratively with Thomas Jefferson University and with Pennsylvania's fourteen 988 call centers to ensure that they have as many resources as possible to help people who are in crisis...," the agency said.

Arkoosh wrote on X that Pennsylvania would provide "a warm handoff to the Trevor Project - showing Governor Shapiro's commitment to continuing to provide culturally competent supports despite the federal government's divestment from this work."

The Trevor Project's Lifeline can be reached, independent of 988, via 1-866-488-7386.