Editor鈥檚 note: This story includes suicide statistics that may be upsetting to some readers.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached by phone or text at 鈥�988鈥� and by chat at .
States in the Mountain West are stepping up to provide a safe place for LGBTQ+ youth to call when they are in crises.
That鈥檚 because they鈥檒l no longer have specific services through the national 988 Suicide and Crisis hotline.
Right now, when you call the hotline, an operator tells veterans to 鈥減ress one鈥� and spanish-speakers to 鈥減ress two.鈥� Then, 鈥淔or specialized support for LGBTQ+ people under the age of 25, press three.鈥�
Option three will route the caller to a national provider, , to talk to trained counselors, often with similar life experiences.
But that option is going away on July 17 amid budget cuts (services cost $33 million last year) and the Trump administration鈥檚 effort to 鈥渘o longer silo LGB+ youth services鈥� and to 鈥渇ocus on serving all help seekers,鈥� according to a , which explicitly dropped the 鈥淭鈥� which stands for transgender and the 鈥淨鈥� which stands for queer in the acronym.
This comes after 43.5% of LGBTQ+ youth considered suicide last year in the eight states that make up the Mountain West, according to .
Credit: The Trevor Project
Where will calls go?
Callers who press three will now be routed to the same state call centers as the general public. That includes the Wyoming Lifeline in Greybull, one of two call centers in the state 鈥� which fielded the of calls in the nation from LGBTQ+ youth considering suicide last year (56%).
Ralph Nieder-Westermann, who leads , is concerned that these youth will no longer see 988 as a safe place to call.
鈥淚'm afraid that people in need will not reach out,鈥� Nieder-Westermann said.
Wyoming callers may not want to talk to local responders because of state rhetoric 鈥� 鈥� about LGBTQ+ communities.
But Nieder-Westermann emphasized the Wyoming Lifeline is a safe place to call. He said it鈥檚 uniquely qualified to work with people who identify as LGBTQ+, as there are several staff members who identify as part of these communities.
Additionally, Nieder-Westermann said the center can handle a higher volume of calls. From August of 2023 to August of 2024, less than 4% of Wyoming callers chose the 鈥減ress three鈥� option, according to data provided by Nieder-Westermann.
How are states preparing?
Call centers in other states also are planning to pick up the slack.
Gordon Coombs, the 988 director in Colorado, said that his state鈥檚 centers were adding staff members and expanding capacity since with the state鈥檚 ten-digit crisis hotline.
He said, if there鈥檚 an influx of LGBTQ+ youth callers, they鈥檒l further expand capacity in the coming months.
鈥淲e know that we need to put in place additional supports,鈥� Coombes said. 鈥淸These services not] being available at a national level is concerning. I'm confident in how we handle all populations in Colorado, that there'll be no change.鈥�
Nevada is also preparing for the change. Call takers are trained, or will be trained before July 17, on cultural responsiveness, which includes working with LGBTQ+ callers.
In addition, last November, the state invested in a new 988 call center in the southern part of the state.
鈥淏ecause of this investment, Nevada 988 will have the capacity to quickly answer an increased number of calls,鈥� state spokesperson Jesse Stone said via email.
This comes after Nevada had the lowest answer rate in the region in May 2024 (64%), according to
Since launching as a three-digit number in 2022, the 988 hotline has been by some advocates for transgender people because of its partnerships with law enforcement, though providers say this is rare.
Sara Burlingame, with advocacy group Wyoming Equality, said thatshe doesn鈥檛 want to 鈥渕ake the perfect the enemy of the good.鈥�
鈥淎t the end of the day, someone who's in crisis needs someone to pick up on the other end,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd let them know that their life has value, and that there's someone who's willing to sit with them and listen to them.鈥�
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, 萝莉少女 in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by CPB.