The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is exploring ways to maintain LGBTQ+ suicide prevention counseling after the federal government cuts funding for the program.
Claims from LA County supervisors Janice Hahn and Lindsey Horvath are scheduled to be discussed at their weekly meetings on Tuesday. The supervisor will discuss last month’s announcement that the Federal Agency for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services’ funding for specialist LGBTQ+ services will end on July 17th.
“This cut in funding is particularly devastating for a vulnerable population,” Hearn said in the motion.
The allegations also require county staff to report the impact of the funding cuts in two weeks and explore ways to continue serving locally.
“It’s not only true that LGBTQ+ young people have specific options for professional service through 988, but also essential to sustaining their lives,” Hearn said.
Since 2022 and 988 dialing, the national suicide prevention hotline has been accessible.
“LGBTQ+ youth have experienced a higher risk of suicide, not because of sexual orientation or gender identity, but because of the way they are abused and blamed by others. In fact, LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to try and kill more than four times as much as their peers,” Hearn said.
The following year, options were added to the hotline to provide professional counseling to LGBTQ+ youth. LGBTQ+ youths were able to press 3 on their mobile phones to allow them to access services locally provided by the West Hollywood-based nonprofit Trevor Project.
Source link
