The Trump administration’s plan to restore the LGBTQ+ youth option on the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is facing new controversy, as The Trevor Project—the organization that created the service—may be excluded from participating.
The Trevor Project launched the “Press 3” option in 2022, connecting LGBTQ+ youth in crisis with specially trained counselors. During its three years of operation, the service handled about 1.6 million contacts before it was eliminated in July 2025 after the administration cited a lack of funding. Congress later directed $33 million to restore LGBTQ+-specific crisis services by the end of this year.
However, the nonprofit administering 988 is limiting applications to crisis centers that are currently active members of the network. Because The Trevor Project’s specialized service was canceled last year, it is no longer considered eligible. In a statement, CEO Jaymes Black said, “The question of whether or not The Trevor Project can participate in a restored federal crisis line for LGBTQ+ youth signals a much larger concern: The next iteration of the 988 Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth specialized services (known as the ‘press 3 option’) may exclude transgender and nonbinary youth entirely.”
