On MSNBC’s The Weekend: Primetime, co-hosts Antonia Hylton and Ayman Mohyeldin highlighted the Trump administration’s decision to abandon funding the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ-specific care, a move being called a “dangerous decision to play politics with real young people's lives” by... those contracted to carry out the service.
Of course, the two hosts – with help from their guest, Bob the Drag Queen – lamented that help would not be given to those struggling with suicidal thoughts, while ignoring the fact that this care would still be provided just as it was before. Hylton opened by focusing on the criticisms of the decision without ever actually explaining what the decision was:
For nearly three years, young LGBTQ+ people who called 988, the country's Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, had the option to press three to receive specialized services from LGBTQ-trained counselors. That is now a thing of the past. The Trump administration officially shut down the program on Thursday, a move advocates say will be devastating for queer children and young adults, who are more likely – more than four times more likely than their peers to contemplate suicide.
President Trump’s decision was purely a reallocation of funds. The 988 hotline would still be receiving the exact same amount of money, rather that funding would just be going to general services instead of contracting organizations to handle these calls. These organizations would still exist and would continue to provide these services, just not under the 988 number.
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***The complete post is on NewsBusters***
