A national suicide prevention hotline specifically for LGBTQ+ youth quietly reopened on Sept. 30, following a federal decision to shutter the service more than a year ago, The Seattle Times reported.
The specialized service allows young people who call or text 988, the national mental health crisis line, to select a “Press 3” option. This routing connects them with counselors trained to provide specialized support and resources tailored to the unique needs of the LGBTQ+ community.
The line had been operational since 2022 before the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration terminated its funding in July 2025.
While the service is back online, the federal government has opted not to launch a public awareness campaign to signal its return.
“The catch, I guess, is that the feds have decided not to do any promotion of it,” Lonnie Peterson, 988 crisis system manager at Washington’s Department of Health, told The Seattle Times.
Because of this silence from Washington, state health officials are now coordinating their own efforts to ensure vulnerable youth know the option exists. In Washington, the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline provides 24/7 access to free services, including specialized routing for veterans, Spanish speakers, American Indian and Alaska Native people, and those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The reopening follows a period of bipartisan congressional pressure aimed at preserving these specialized services. Before the funding was cut in 2025, the specialty line saw significant demand; in Washington alone, the service fielded nearly 22,000 calls and texts before going dark, according to data from the Department of Health.
A national analysis from KFF found that contacts to the specialized LGBTQ+ service were increasing in the six months immediately preceding its shutdown. The service operates via a network of crisis counselors located outside of Washington state, but these professionals are tasked with connecting callers to localized support.
“We do expect them to be able to obviously handle the calls that are coming in,” Peterson said, noting the importance of the connection to local resource hubs.
| Metric | Data Point |
|---|---|
| Washington State volume (pre-shutdown) | Nearly 22,000 calls and texts |
| Suicide risk comparison | LGBTQ+ youth 3x more likely to consider suicide than peers |
| Service shutdown date | July 2025 |
| Service reopening date | Sept. 30 |
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