On July 17, 2025, the Trump administration eliminated the LGBTQ+-specific “Press 3” option from the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This decision deepened the ongoing LGBTQ+ youth mental health crisis in Kentucky. For many queer and trans young people across the state, it marked more than just a policy shift. It quietly erased one of the few crisis services they could trust, one that offered affirming, life-saving support in moments of extreme vulnerability.
At a time when suicide rates among LGBTQ+ youth in Kentucky remain dangerously high, this loss sends a clear and harmful message: that queer lives, particularly in rural and conservative communities, are seen as expendable.
What We’ve Lost
The “Press 3” feature gave LGBTQ+ callers direct access to counselors trained to support queer and trans youth. Since its launch in 2022, the service fielded over 1.3 million calls, texts, and chats in less than three years.
Now that resource is gone, taking with it the only assurance many LGBTQ+ youth had that someone on the other end of the line would affirm their identity and understand their crisis. In Kentucky, where queer and trans youth already face isolation, stigma, and limited access to mental health care, the loss hits especially hard.
Kentucky Youth Advocates report the following:
- 43 percent of LGBTQ+ Kentuckians aged 13 to 24 seriously considered suicide in the past year.
- 14 percent attempted suicide.
- In 2023 alone, 30 youth and 90 young adults in Kentucky died by suicide.
“We have to take care of ourselves”
Jeremy Ellis, a longtime LGBTQ+ leader in Lexington, responded directly to the shutdown. “This is sad. We as queer people are aware of this, we have to take care of ourselves,” Ellis told LEX18. “Queer kids in rural parts of the state need this line the most.”
As a result, the responsibility now shifts to local organizations, school counselors, mutual aid networks, and LGBTQIA+ adults, many of whom are already stretched thin. With the loss of a vital support line, these community members must take on even more, despite limited resources, to confront the growing LGBTQ+ youth mental health crisis in Kentucky.
What’s Still Available
Although “Press 3” has ended, several national hotlines remain active and LGBTQ+-affirming:
- The Trevor Project
Call: 1-866-488-7386
Text or chat: thetrevorproject.org - Trans Lifeline
Call: 877-565-8860
Peer-to-peer, trans-run, confidential support
These resources are not state-funded. They are run by nonprofits and volunteers, many of whom are doing this work without institutional backing. The burden should not be on them alone.
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