Latest news with #SAMHSA
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Actor Jim Parsons is not pleased with the Trump administration.
Actor Jim Parsons has openly criticized the Trump administration for one of its latest decisions. Last Friday, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline switched off the option for LGBTQ youth to press a button and speak to a specialized counselor, which had been in place since 2022. In those three years, the 988 hotline has received over 16 million calls, texts and chats. Nearly 1.5 million of those were made by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, according to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
UPI
3 days ago
- Health
- UPI
Optional LGBTQ suicide prevention lifeline service ends
LGBTQ supporters march to the U.S. Capitol during WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., on June 8 but on Thursday lost access to a suicide prevention lifeline option tailored for that community. File Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo July 19 (UPI) -- The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ceased its optional service for LGBTQ callers on Thursday after the Trump administration in June ordered it to end. Callers can dial 988 to reach the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which became active three years ago, but there is no option for LGBTQ callers, many of whom are young. "This is a tragic moment," said Mark Henson, vice president of government affairs and advocacy for The Trevor Project. "Many LGBTQ youth who use these services didn't know they existed until they called 988 and found out there is someone on the other end of the line that knows what they've gone through and cares deeply for them," Henson said. The non-profit Trevor Project has operated the specialized LGBTQ suicide lifeline since 2022, but the "press 3 option" for LGBTQ callers no longer is available. Although the option is gone, LGBTQ callers will be helped, but they won't be directed to those who might specialize in assisting those who identify as LGBTQ. "Everyone who contacts the 988 Lifeline will continue to receive access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors who can help with suicidal, substance misuse, mental health crises or any other kind of emotional distress," officials for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said. SAMHSA is the federal agency tasked with managing the 988 suicide lifeline after President Donald Trump signed enabling legislation during his first term in office. Congress had allocated $33 million for the LGBTQ lifeline for 2025, but those funds have been spent, according to SAMHSA. Instead of seeking more funds, the Trump administration ended the option.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Unhinged reason Democrat-run cities riddled with crime are now PAYING the meth addicts blighting their streets
Liberal cities are using cash and gift cards as an incentive for meth addicts to maintain their sobriety - but these programs may be in jeopardy under the Trump administration. Addiction treatment facilities in cities including San Francisco and Portland, Maine, have been implementing contingency management (CM) techniques to keep patients clean and on the path to recovery. Contingency management is a decades-old strategy that positively enforces sobriety by rewarding negative drug tests with prizes such as vouchers, gift cards and debit card cash valued. The longer someone is able to stay on the straight and narrow, the heftier the pay - though maximum payouts vary from clinic to clinic. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is funded by taxpayers, allows patients to be awarded up to $750 each year through its vouchers. Other programs, such as ones in Pennsylvania 's Allegheny County, reward participants up to $1,000 annually. Treatment plans generally span anywhere from eight weeks to a year in duration and are most commonly used for treating stimulant addictions. While experts have praised the method as an effective way to combat drug dependencies, it has sparked fierce criticism for its transactional nature - with skeptics saying unhealthy habits re-emerge once the money stops coming. Researcher and clinicians have slammed the practice as 'bribery' and called it 'unethical to pay people for what they should be doing anyway,' according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM). But for Jamie Mains, who is addicted to meth, CM programs have helped completely turn her life around. 'I was getting paid not to use and that was nice and that was the beginning,' Mains, of Portland, Maine, told The New York Times. 'But now I feel like being sober is payment enough, not waking up sick is payment enough, being trusted is payment enough.' Mains had been binge-drinking since she was nine-years-old and her mother shot her up with heroin when she was just 12. She had been battling addiction ever since. While she traded her fentanyl cravings for meth, she had no luck becoming totally sober until entering a CM program last year. The program had just launched at Portland's Spurwink clinic, and Mains enrolled because the 'money was a good enough reason to try.' Sixteen months later, Mains is totally sober. She told the NY Times that even when her step-mother started smoking crack in her car while they were on their way to a relative's funeral, she had no urge to cave. 'Most people recoil at paying people to do the right thing,' Dr. Sally Satel, a medical director of a methadone clinic in Washington DC and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute told the NY Times. 'But we've got plenty of data that shows this works. So I think we just have to bite the utilitarian bullet.' Over the past few years, Maine has seen a surge in meth addicts. From 2018 to 2024, the number of meth overdoses skyrocketed from seven percent to 37 percent, according to Maine's director of opioid response. California, Montana, Washington and West Virginia have sought out Medicaid coverage for CM programs, according to the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association (LAPPA). Most insurance plans do not cover CM treatments. The recovery method first caught traction in 2011, when the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched an initiative to broaden patient access to CM. From 2011 to 2016, the method was implemented in 116 out of the 129 VA programs in collaboration with the Center of Excellence in Substance Addiction Treatment and Education (CESATE). More than 8,000 veterans have been treated through these programs. Beyond the VA, California has been spearheading efforts to implement CM programs. Last year, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom proposed using hundreds of thousands of tax payer dollars to implement such programs throughout the Golden State. According to California's Department of Health Care Services website, 23 out of the state's 58 counties participate in the incentive programs. One of those counties, San Francisco - which has one of the worst overdose rates in the nation - proposed a 'Cash Not Drugs' program last year. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the measure in order to combat the city's raging drug problem. Under this program, people could receive up to $100 a week for steering clear of illicit substances, CBS reported. Under the Biden administration, increased federal support and allowed more states to apply for Medicaid grants to fund the patient rewards. Before raising the maximum SAMHSA voucher limit to $750, it was just $75. But proponents of CM are worried for its future, as Donald Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy - a recovered heroin addict himself - may not be on board with expanding or sustaining these programs. The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to the NY Times' question specifically about CM, Instead this agency issued the following statement: 'HHS must return to common-sense public health approaches focused on prevention, treatment, and long-term recovery.'
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
MAGA move: Trump admin axes LGBTQ youth suicide hotline; critics warn ‘kids will die'
(Photo: AP) The Trump administration has stopped a special phone service that helped LGBTQ kids and young adults with mental health problems. This move has upset many people, including Democrats, doctors, and LGBTQ rights groups. This service was part of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It let callers under 25 talk to trained counsellors who understand LGBTQ issues. NBC News reported that the government shut it down. The service started in October 2022. It was known as the 'Press 3' option. People could press 3 or text the word 'PRIDE' to speak to someone who could really understand them. Since it began, nearly 1.5 million people have used it. The government agency SAMHSA said last month it would no longer keep this special line just for LGBTQ kids. They said they want to help all callers in the same way. Jaymes Black, the head of The Trevor Project, which helped run the service, said stopping it was 'unfathomable.' He told NBC: 'This administration has made a dangerous decision to play politics with real young people's lives. Sadly, more children are going to die in America because of this cut.' People from both political parties were upset. Democrat Rep. Seth Moulton said on MSNBC: 'Kids are going to die. This is actually the kind of thing Republicans should care about if they really care about American kids.' He also said: 'As a veteran, I know how much it means to my fellow veterans to be able to push a button when they call 988 and get connected directly to a veterans crisis counsellor. Well, LGBTQ kids need that, too.' Republican Mike Lawler agreed. At a press event, he said, 'Cutting a programme that is working, that is meeting a real and growing need, just does not make sense.' SAMHSA explained that the LGBTQ youth service had no more funding from Congress. They said if they kept it, they would have to remove help from other parts of the 988 hotline. The veterans' option to press 1 is still available. California governor Gavin Newsom reacted quickly. He said California will now work with The Trevor Project to train 988 crisis workers to understand LGBTQ youth better. He said, 'While the Trump administration continues its attacks on LGBTQ kids, California has a message to the community: we see you and we're here for you.' If LGBTQ youth need help, they can still contact The Trevor Project.
CNN
5 days ago
- Health
- CNN
Trump administration ends 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's specialized service for LGBTQ+ youth
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth have officially ended operations, meaning people contacting 988 for help no longer have the option to 'press 3' to reach counselors specifically trained to respond to the needs of this group. The lifeline included a subnetwork for LGBTQ+ youth soon after its launch in July 2022. But the US Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced last month that those services would be coming to an end. 'The Press 3 option was established as a pilot program in Fiscal Year 2022 under a government agreement with a third party. The Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus included a Congressional directive for $29.7 million to fund the specialized services. Federal funding in FY24 for the Press 3 services increased to $33 million,' SAMHSA said in a statement in June. 'As of June 2025, more than $33 million in funds have been spent to support the subnetworks, fully expending the monies allocated for 988 Lifeline LGB+ subnetwork services,' the statement said. 'Everyone who contacts the 988 Lifeline will continue to receive access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors who can help with suicidal, substance misuse, or mental health crises, or any other kind of emotional distress.' 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline with LGBTQ+ youth services Source: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline The lifeline has two other subnetworks, which both remain in operation: a 'Press 1 option' to be connected to the Veterans Crisis Lifeline and a 'Press 2 option' to be connected to Spanish-speaking services. According to the latest data from SAMHSA, nearly 16.5 million people have called, texted or sent chats to the 988 Lifeline and have been transferred to a crisis contact center since July 2022. It's estimated that nearly 1.5 million of those were routed to the LGBTQ+ specialized service. Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and the former Baltimore Health Commissioner, told CNN's Pamela Brown that the 988 suicide prevention hotline service should be a " bipartisan, nonpartisan initiative to get services to as many people as need them, including LGBTQ individuals." The administration is considering eliminating the service as a way to cut back on funding for next year's discretionary budget for mental health, according to an internal document reviewed by CNN. Many LGBTQ+ youth advocacy groups, including the Trevor Project, say the move to end the specialized services puts many young people at risk. 'This administration has made a dangerous decision to play politics with real young people's lives,' Jaymes Black, CEO of the nonprofit The Trevor Project, said in a news release Thursday. 'The 988 Lifeline's Specialized Services Program was created to serve Americans at highest risk for suicide — including veterans and LGBTQ+ youth — with best-practice crisis care that meets these populations' unique needs.' The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, has been a subcontractor to the specialized service since 2022, serving as one of seven call centers. 'I am heartbroken that this administration has decided to say, loudly and clearly, that they believe some young people's lives are not worth saving,' Black said. 'I want every LGBTQ+ young person to know that you are worthy, valued, and loved exactly as you are. No matter what the federal government says or does, you have millions of people — all across the country — in your corner, and we are here to support you, always,' he said in part. 'We are also immeasurably grateful to the crisis counselors and staff members — whom we are being forced to let go in the wake of this news — for their tireless efforts supporting and protecting LGBTQ+ youth.' In October 2020, President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill to make 988 the universal telephone number to reach the national suicide prevention hotline. The bill, which became the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, said, 'It is the sense of Congress that youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (referred to in this section as 'LGBTQ') are more than 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide than their peers, with 1 in 5 LGBTQ youth and more than 1 in 3 transgender youth reporting attempting suicide.' About two years later, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline launched under the Biden administration, transitioning what was a 10-digit number to an easier-to-remember three-digit number. People seeking emotional and mental health support can dial 988 for help in the same way they might dial 911 for medical emergencies. Since 2022, the federal government has invested some $1.5 billion in the 988 project.
