WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) sent a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., raising urgent concerns over reports that the Specialized Services for LGBTQ youth within the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline may be discontinued.

Launched in 2022, the “Press 3” option has served nearly 1.3 million callers by providing critical, identity-affirming mental health support to LGBTQ youth—one of the most vulnerable populations in the nation’s ongoing mental health crisis.

In the letter, Fitzpatrick writes: “Access to mental health care is an urgent problem in our nation, and we must ensure that vulnerable groups, especially our children, have adequate access to suicide prevention tools and services.”

Fitzpatrick warned that eliminating the program would represent “a dangerous setback” in national suicide prevention efforts and called on Secretary Kennedy to ensure the Lifeline’s specialized services remain fully intact.

Fitzpatrick, who serves as Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, has been a national leader in advancing comprehensive, bipartisan solutions to address the mental health crisis. He has championed legislation to expand crisis care infrastructure, strengthen the 988 Lifeline, support first responders, and improve youth mental health services. His efforts continue to focus on expanding access, reducing stigma, and ensuring that every individual—especially those at elevated risk—has the support and resources they need.

Read the full letter here and below:

The Honorable Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, D.C. 20201

Dear Secretary Kennedy,

I write to you to express my urgent concerns surrounding the reports that the Specialized Services for LGBTQ youth within the 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline will be eliminated.

Since 2022, this “press 3” option within the 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline has served nearly 1.3 million callers. Suspending a program designed to act as an empathetic and humane voice for vulnerable LGBTQ youth would be a dangerous setback in managing our nation’s ongoing mental health crisis. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that there were over 49,300 suicides in 2023, nearly the highest in our nation’s history. And further CDC studies have shown that LGBTQ youth have a higher risk of suicide.

Access to mental health care is an urgent problem in our nation, and we must ensure that vulnerable groups, especially our children, have adequate access to suicide prevention tools and services. Disbanding this specialized service will likely lead to increases in preventable suicides, hospitalizations, and greater mental health consequences for LGBTQ youth and their families and support systems.

I request an update on the status of the hotline, and I urge you to work to ensure the necessary personnel and infrastructure of the Lifeline’s Specialized Services remain in place. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to continuing to work with you and the Administration to address our nation’s mental health crisis and supporting our children.

Sincerely,
Brian K. Fitzpatrick
Member of Congress

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