Surgeon General seeks warning labels on social media platforms
US surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy sought warning labels on social media, citing concerns about the mental health of children.
More than 100 Congressional Democrats have signed a letter urging U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to scrub budget cuts that eliminate critical mental health services for LGBTQ+ youth who face more mental health challenges than their peers.
At-risk, it is provided through 988 suicide and crisis lifelines, and since its inception has concluded more than 13 million calls, texts and chats from the United States and its territory. Created through a bipartisan measure signed to the law by President Trump in 2020, Lifeline serves veterans and non-English speakers as well as LGBTQ+ youth.
Just like calling 911, anyone looking for mental or emotional health support can call 988 and have an additional option directed at LGBTQ+ Youth Support trained counselors.
The proposed cut, first reported by the Washington Post, will cut Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Services as part of the HHS overhaul. The restructuring will integrate 28 departments of the agency into 15, including a newly created administration for healthy America to implement Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy” agenda.
“Ending this mental health support for young people in the face of suffering will destroy resources that are important to some of our country’s most vulnerable youth,” the lawmaker’s letter said. “This myopic and dangerous plan would undermine and have fatal consequences if instituted, which would undermine the 988’s ability to provide support tailored to the population at high risk of suicide.”
The letter has been signed by 109 members of Congress, including Rep. Seth Moulton of D-Massachusetts. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois; Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan; Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin.
“The mental health crisis does not recognize partisan differences. This is why the support of 988 and its professional services is always solidly and bipartisan,” the representative wrote. “…We urge you to abolish this wise plan. Children in our country deserve no less.”
Their mission reflects a similar letter issued on May 7 by a group of Democratic senators, including Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Jeff Markley of Oregon, and Edward Markey of Massachusetts.
The cuts proposed to be implemented on October 1 are as LGBTQ+ young people experience a surge in mental health issues caused by rising attacks on the Trump administration’s community. The plan is still in draft format, and its final version requires council approval.
Of the 13 million calls, texts and chats Lifeline has received, approximately 1.2 million are directed towards LGBTQ+ Youth Hotline. The frequency of these contacts has skyrocketed over the past few months, according to the Trevor Project, one of seven federally funded contact centers that partner with Lifeline, which provides special support to LGBTQ+ youth.
According to the TREVOR project, suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 14 and the third leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 24, according to the national organization focusing on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth. LGBTQ+ youths are likely to try more than four times as much suicide as their colleagues, with LGBTQ+ youths exceeding 1.8 million LGBTQ+ youths.
“Suicide prevention is about risk, not identity,” said Jaymes Black, CEO of the Trevor Project. Having ended Lifeline’s professional LGBTQ+ youth services, Black said:
In response to the lawmaker’s letter, a spokesman for the HHS Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services noted that all 988 services are currently available and have not been changed.
“988 Lifeline provides access to 24/7 calls, texts and skilled and caring crisis counselors who can help people experiencing suicide, substance misuse, or mental health crisis, or other types of mental distress,” the spokesman said. “If you are concerned about your loved one who needs support in a crisis, people can also call, text or chat with the 988. The 988 Lifeline is a direct connection to immediate support and resources for those who are in a crisis.”
What is 988 Lifeline?
The National 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and Veterans Crisis Line was launched in July 2022 and supported people experiencing mental health, substance use, or suicide crisis.
The service has emerged as a nationwide dial code for people in crisis to connect with suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors since its recruitment in July 2020. A few months after the FCC’s actions, President Donald Trump signed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, which incorporated 988 lifelines into the law.
“When Congress established the 988 Lifeline, which was signed to law by President Trump during its first term, we intended it to be a resource for it. Any The representative said he was experiencing mental distress.
Community and mental health advocates agreed.
Tom Milam, a psychologist who serves as chief medical officer at Iris Telehealth, who has a strong presence in the LGBTQ+ community, said the proposed cuts are likely to exacerbate the stress that overloaded behavioral health resources are already facing. Patients who have been postponed to long-weight lists for outpatient behavioral health services are increasingly turning their eyes to emergency rooms and emergency care centers for mental health and addiction treatment, he said.
“988 was a game-changer as a resource for people struggling with mental health and addiction issues,” Milam said. If that option is no longer present due to inadequate staffing or experience extended hold times, more patients will call 911 or seek emergency room care.
“We see hospitals and healthcare systems doing their best to have people in our community with mental health and addiction issues, but that’s not enough,” he said.
Rachael Fried, executive director of Jewish Queer Youth, a New York-based mental health organization, said that he is well known for the acronym for JQY and will contribute to “even greater loss of hope” by eliminating Lif’s LGBTQ+ services.
“The administration’s proposal to cut services for LGBTQ youth through the 988 suicide and crisis hotline would have devastating and fatal consequences,” she said.
In a 2024 Trevor Project survey, Black found that 40% of LGBTQ+ young people had taken suicide seriously in the past year, but 12% had discovered that they had tried.
“We urge Congress to defend the establishment of this database’s bipartisan program and ensure that life-saving services continue to continue,” they said. “We don’t need to agree to all policy issues to agree that every young life is worth saving.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat with 988 at 988lifeline.org.
