{"id":77884,"date":"2025-12-09T12:26:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T20:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=77884"},"modified":"2025-12-09T12:26:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T20:26:26","slug":"supervisors-push-forward-on-effort-to-reinstate-specialized-lgbtq-support-through-988-crisis-hotline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=77884","title":{"rendered":"Supervisors Push Forward on Effort to Reinstate Specialized LGBTQ+ Support Through 988 Crisis Hotline"},"content":{"rendered":"

The County will support state and federal legislation to reinstate the service while simultaneously developing proposal for local pilot program<\/em><\/h1>\n

\"Press<\/p>\n

Los Angeles, CA<\/strong> \u2013 Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved two motions authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn and co-authored by Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath that seek to move forward on efforts to reinstate the connection from 988\u2014the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline\u2014to a specialized LGBTQ+ youth support line (otherwise known as the \u00a0\u201cPress 3\u201d option) that was eliminated in July by the Trump Administration. In a press conference before the Board meeting, Hahn and Horvath were joined by California State Assemblymember Mark Gonz\u00e1lez, who plans to introduce legislation during the upcoming legislative cycle that would fund and re-instate a statewide specialized 988 subnetwork for LGBTQ+ youth across California.<\/p>\n

“The Press 3 option was a lifeline, and losing it has been devastating. It wasn\u2019t just a policy change\u2014it was a message to LGBTQ+ young people that their needs didn\u2019t matter,”\u00a0said Supervisor Janice Hahn.<\/strong>\u00a0“But LA County will not turn its back on our LGBTQ+ young people. \u00a0Not now, not ever. So we are going to work at every level\u2014local, state, and federal\u2014to get this lifeline restored and protected for good.”<\/p>\n

In July, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) ended federal funding for specialized services that allowed 988 callers to be connected to LGBTQ+ youth counseling. Previously, callers could press 3 after dialing 988 to get routed to a subnetwork of specialized call centers that provided over-the-phone counseling specifically for LGBTQ+ youth. In the last year before this service was terminated, over 14% of the 5.1 million 988 callers elected to use this Press 3 option.<\/p>\n

\u201cEliminating the \u2018Press 3\u2019 option\u00a0on the 988 Lifeline is a dangerous decision,\u00a0with real consequences for LGBTQ+ youth,\u00a0who rely on trained, affirming counselors in their darkest moments,\u201d said\u00a0Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cYoung\u00a0people in our community face disproportionate challenges;\u00a0taking away this critical resource is unacceptable. We must restore this lifesaving support and make clear that every young person deserves to be heard, supported, and safe. With today\u2019s motion, Los Angeles County is joining federal and state leaders in demanding it be restored for every LGBTQ+ youth in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not waiting for this federal administration to realize what they\u2019ve done,” said\u00a0Assemblymember Mark Gonz\u00e1lez<\/strong>. “Lives are on the line right now, and every day we wait, more LGBTQ+ youth are pushed into crisis. If we stand by, thousands could be lost to suicide. Before this reckless cut, 1.5 million contacts were made to Press 3. That doesn\u2019t happen by accident \u2014 that happens because LGBTQ+ youth trust this lifeline and rely on it in their darkest moments. Thanks to the leadership of Supervisor Hahn and Supervisor Horvath, my bill will ensure that California will not abandon these young people. We will step up, we will protect them, and we will make sure that life-saving help is always just four digits away.”<\/p>\n

\"Press<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that LGBTQ+ youth are hearing the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and it\u2019s affecting their mental health. Even in supportive households, it\u2019s not possible to block it all out. When youth are in crisis, they do reach out for help \u2013 from their friends, their family, and from suicide prevention hotlines. This Press 3 option gives hope and support for LGBTQ+ youth in their darkest moments, preventing them from doing something that cannot be undone,\u201d\u00a0said Sunitha Menon, Executive Director of the LA County LGBTQ+ Commission,<\/strong>\u00a0who also spoke during today’s press conference.<\/p>\n

The first<\/a>\u00a0of Hahn and Horvath\u2019s two motions today both directs the County\u2019s Department of Mental Health (DMH) to develop a proposal for a local \u201cPress 3\u201d pilot program and expresses the County\u2019s support for the legislation that Gonz\u00e1lez plans to introduce to reinstate the service statewide. DMH operates the County\u2019s 24\/7 Alternative Crisis Response System, which includes the LA County 988 Call Center.\u00a0 This system seeks to reduce the reliance on law enforcement for individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. In July\u2014shortly before the federal cuts to the Press 3 option went into effect\u2014Hahn and Horvath\u00a0led the effort<\/a>\u00a0to evaluate the impact of the cuts and explore possible options for preserving it for Los Angeles County residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government may be turning its back on LGBTQ+ people, but here in LA County we\u2019ll do everything within our power to keep this community safe,\u201d\u00a0said Hahn at the time.<\/strong>\u00a0The pilot program that today\u2019s motion greenlights is a direct result of Hahn and Horvath\u2019s July motion and the resulting report by DMH.<\/p>\n

Hahn and Horvath\u2019s\u00a0second motion<\/a>\u00a0expresses the County\u2019s support for S. 2826,2\u2014introduced by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Lisa\u00a0 Murkowski (R-AK)\u2014and H.R. 5434,3\u2014introduced by Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and co-sponsored by Representatives Michael Lawler (R-NY), Sharice Davids (D-KS), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Seth Moulton (D-MA). These bipartisan bills, known collectively as the 988 LGBTQ+ Youth Access Act of 2025, would protect specialized mental health services for LGBTQ+ youth by codifying the \u201cPress 3\u201d option into law, and establishing dedicated resources to reinstate, operate, and maintain this service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The County will support state and...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77885,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77884\/revisions\/77885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}