"Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat who is a lesbian, said in a press release. "There is absolutely no good reason that Donald Trump took away this specialized help for our LGBTQ youth. Mental health does not see partisan lines or geography, and I'm proud to be working with Democrats and Republicans to do what's right and ensure that all kids have access to the help they need - regardless of who is president.""
"Baldwin wrote the legislation to create the three-digit 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and fought to set up a pilot program for LGBTQ+ youth to address higher rates of suicide and mental health challenges among this population. Since the lifeline launched, it has received over 17.7 million contacts, including 12 million calls, 3.1 million texts, and 2.6 million chats. In 2025, the answer rate hit its highest point since inception, 92 percent, but cutting funding for specialized services puts that in jeopardy."
U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Lisa Murkowski introduced legislation to write specialized 988 crisis services for LGBTQ+ youth into law, restoring services terminated in July by the Trump administration. The 988 lifeline has handled over 17.7 million contacts since launch, including calls, texts, and chats, and achieved a 92 percent answer rate in 2025. The LGBTQ+ youth crisis line has logged 1.5 million contacts since 2022 with growing usage. The 988 LGBTQ+ Youth Access Act would protect and secure long-term funding for these specialized services beyond one-time appropriations.
Read at Advocate.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]