Trigger warning: This column mentions suicide.
If you were a presidential administration and you wanted to communicate to LGBTQ+ people that you did not care about their lives and would, in fact, prefer it if they were dead, you’d be hard pressed to beat the Trump Administration.
I have never in my life seen such a sustained and cruel attack on LGBTQ+ people, and I lived through the George W. Bush marriage amendment days where my worth as a human was given scant consideration, but my ability to kill marriage for straight people and destroy “traditional” families was larger than life. Oh, and also I was portrayed as a raging sex pervert.
It was exhausting, but quite tame to what’s happening today. This is especially true for transgender people. The Christian-fascist obsession with transgender people, specifically with dehumanizing transgender people of all ages (starting with transgender kids) and seeking to drive them out of public life and existence, is so horrifying.
The need for crisis services for LGBTQ+ people, especially for young people, can really not be overstated at this present moment. Without such services, things would be even more tragic and devastating.
Which is exactly why the Trump Administration is seeking to disrupt those services.
First, a little background. “Five years ago, Congress passed legislation creating 988, which President Donald Trump signed into law during his first term,” Today reports. The suicide and crisis prevention number was changed to 988 because it’s easy to remember, much like 911. The law “specified that two groups, veterans and LGBTQ+ youth, should have the choice to speak with counselors who underwent training to understand their unique needs.”
The Trump of today, however, has decided that LGBTQ+ people don’t deserve the specialized help. And that directly hurts The Trevor Project, which has been doing essential suicide prevention work for LGBTQ+ young people since 1998. The Trevor Project has trained counselors who provide confidential assistance and can be reached 24 hours a day, 365 days a year via text, chat and phone. They’ve helped over 1.3 million young people through the years.
On June 17, Trevor Project administrators were told that the Trump Administration was closing the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program on July 17.
This is despite the well-documented fact that LGBTQ+ young people have a higher suicide risk. “LGBTQ+ young people are not inherently prone to suicide risk because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” The Trevor Project makes clear, “but rather placed at higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society.”
The Republican Party as a whole has decided that the U.S. doesn’t mistreat and stigmatize LGBTQ+ people enough, however.
“This is devastating, to say the least,” Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, said in a statement. “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics. The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.”
Of course, nothing for the Trump Administration and, for that matter, the entire Republican Party, is about people over politics. They do not care about people other than themselves, not even most of the people who voted for them. This is a party for obscenely rich people. That’s it. Everyone else be damned.
Black goes on to mention that the notice from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration about this change went out of its way to be cruel, stating that the 988 Lifeline “will no longer silo LGB+ youth services, also known as the ‘Press 3 option,’ to focus on serving all help seekers.”
On the surface, it might seem totally reasonable to the average person to focus on all help seekers. You know, “all lives matter” and all that. Except having counselors trained to help LGBTQ+ people makes a huge difference when those crisis calls come in. It’s crucial that those counselors understand what LGBTQ+ people are facing and are able to listen without judgment. As any LGBTQ+ person who has ever sought out affirming mental help can tell you, it’s hard to find.
But the most pointed jab is that SAMHSA literally erased transgender people from the acronym in their announcement. The intended message is loud and clear.
But so is the message from people, like Black, who are determined to help transgender people get through these difficult times.
“Transgender people can never, and will never, be erased,” continued Black. “I want every LGBTQ+ young person to know that you are worthy, you are loved and you belong — despite this heartbreaking news. The Trevor Project’s crisis counselors are here for you 24/7, just as we always have been, to help you navigate anything you might be feeling right now.”
It is still possible for Congress “to reverse this fatal decision,” said Black. Urge Congress to act and learn more at TheTrevorProject.org/ActNow.
