Currently, Congress and lawmakers are passing and attempting to pass harmful legislation removing access to gender affirming care and sending a clear message of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment across the country. Censorship of LGBTQ+ affirming messages and spaces is being carried out, and the gender expansive community continues to face numerous barriers to well-being, including discrimination, exclusion from family, harassment, and reduced access to gender and identity-affirming education, medical, and mental health care (Christensen et al., 2023).
The Trevor Project (2022) found that 85% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported that recent debates about anti-trans policies have negatively affected their mental health. On July 17, 2025, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) officially ended the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth Lifeline, which had supported an estimated 1.5 million LGBTQ+ young people since its inception in 2022. In response to the administration’s decision which poses significant public health risks, The Trevor Project, initiated a hotline offering free and confidential crisis services via a 24/7 hotline operated by trained volunteer crisis counselors (crisis line number listed below) offering support to young people considering suicide. Gabby Doyle of The Trevor Project, a human services organization providing education, research, and advocacy in service to the LGBTQ+ community, launched a petition, already signed by 50,000 people, to urge Congress to reverse the administration’s proposal to eliminate all federal federal funding of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth Lifeline Youth Specialized Services as of October 1, 2025.
As mentioned in the petition’s statement, “LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers. The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ young people in the United States seriously consider suicide each year, and at least one attempts suicide every 45 seconds” (The Trevor Project, 2025). Though a difficult subject for many, conversations surrounding suicide, and understanding the complexity of its dimensions and contributing factors, is imperative. Today, suicide is a public health crisis, as it is the second leading cause of death in 10–14-year-olds, and the third leading cause of death in young people ages 15-24 (SAMHSA, 2025).
After noting how there is scant research of positive events and their impact on the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth, the Trevor Project conducted a study of mental health and positive experiences for young LGBTQ+ young people utilizing The Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People. The results of the survey found that a large majority of youth participants had experienced positive events in the month prior, with the five most commonly reported positive events they had experienced being: giving support to friends (90%), doing enjoyable things with friends (84%), doing something enjoyable just for themselves (81%), receiving support from friends (77%), and receiving positive feedback from a teacher or boss (74%). lower rates of depression in LGBTQ+ youth were associated with positive experiences such as helping friends, spending quality time with friends, feeling a sense of financial stability and/or security in one’s job, and acts of self-care for oneself. Additionally, the research showed that LGBTQ+ youth who had experienced at least one interaction wherein they felt accepted by adult decreased the risk of these youth attempting suicide by 40%.
In this uncertain and concerning times for LGBTQ+ young people, some actions we can take to support as allies and supportive community members include: providing inclusive and affirming spaces that uplift and empower LGBTQ+ young people, provide safe and safer spaces in schools which promote identity affirmation and inclusive community for gender expansive and Black and Brown LGBTQ+ students, and support families with spaces of education, peer support, and LGBTQ+ resources and advocacy for building resiliency and strength as a community. Though the current administration seeks to erase the dignity and sovereignty of trans and gender expansive young people, as a community we will continue to support our LGBTQ+ young people and community members, and prevent suicide through building awareness and supporting organizations, including but not limited to, The Trevor Project, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, PFLAG, The Q Center, the Sexual & Gender Minority Youth Resource Center.
Sources:
Christensen, M.C., Jeon, J., Hostetter, R., Doyle, M., & Kynn, J. (2023). Facilitators and barriers to sexual and gender minority youth development: Addressing accessibility and “Isms”, building collaborations, and supporting mental health in community-based organizations. Children and Youth Services Review (Vol. 152). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107079.
The Trevor Project (2025). Positive Events and Mental Health Among LGBTQ+ Young People. https://doi.org/10.70226/TDEJ1121
Suicide Prevention & Awareness Resources for LGBTQ+ Families and Allies:
Suicide Prevention and Awareness Toolkit (SAMHSA, 2025)
Oregon Alliance to Prevent Suicide – Resources