More youth will need support when LGBTQ+ hotline ends
The McLean County Center for Human Services [MCCHS] anticipates an increase in adolescents needing mental health services after the Trump administration announced cuts to suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth.
Starting July 17, the federal government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] will no longer offer specially trained counselors for LGBTQ+ youth on its 988 suicide prevention hotline.
For five decades, MCCHS has operated as the county’s mobile mental health crisis team. It has staff available to every McLean County school to meet with kids undergoing mental health crises, assess them to see what their needs are, and help to meet those needs.
“The demoralizing misinformation being put out by our current administration and the pressure and stress can really be crushing for an LGBTQIA kid,” MCCHS director Joan Hartman said on WGLT's Sound Ideas.