ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Calls made by members of the LGBTQ+ community to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will now be directed to the main hotline after the Trump Administration eliminated the dedicated call option on Thursday.
A month before this change, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that the 988 Lifeline would discontinue the specific service for LGB+ youth, known as the “Press 3 option,” in order to provide assistance to all individuals seeking help, including those who previously used this option.
“We will need to enhance the training as best as we can and concentrate on preparing these mental health professionals to handle the influx of calls that will be redirected to the general queue,” stated Dr. Byron Green-Calisch, president of the board of directors for St. Pete Pride.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was established in 2020 under President Trump’s first administration.
According to administration, the ‘Press 3’ option was established two years later as a pilot program under a government agreement with a third party, The Trevor Project.
Adolescents and young adults under the age of 25 who would call 988 would be able to press 3 to be routed to LGBTQ+ specialized counselors.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 41% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in 2023 and 20% did attempt to die by suicide.
Dr. Calisch told News Channel 8 the difference in receiving targeted assistance lies in understanding which provides swiftness in meeting needs.
“We don’t want to have providers need or have to ask questions about why this very specific issue is as large as it is, or in the space of triaging, we want to be as quickly as we can to get people to help that they need, and that culturally informed provider is going to be able to cut straight through these issues to get to the heart of the problems,” Calisch said. “Unfortunately, all of the mental health providers are not culturally informed [as] it is not a part of the basic curricula that is, that allows for people to get licensed across the country.”
Calls made to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the Tampa Bay area are routed to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.
“We do expect an increase [in calls] and we are prepared for that increase,” said Clara Reynolds, Crisis Center of Tampa Bay president and CEO. “We maintain that database right here in our community. We have over 4,000 different resources that we can connect individuals to, no matter what their crisis is, no matter how big or how small, we’re the ones that can connect people to the right service at the right time.”
