'Wake-up call': LGBTQ crisis hotlines see surge of calls amid presidential election

The Rainbow Youth Project, a national LGBTQ advocacy group, typically fields almost 800 calls a month on its crisis outreach hotline. In just 10 days, as the 2024 presidential election came to a head, the organization told ABC News it received roughly 5,460.

Organizers say they were prepared for calls to spike given that the LGBTQ community -- and specifically the transgender population -- has been a subject of debate in this election cycle. But they weren't prepared for the overwhelming call volume.

Some callers had to wait on hold over the weekend for operators -- something they've never had to do before, Executive Director Lance Preston said in an interview. Callers weren't just from the LGBTQ residents in need themselves; Preston's staff were fielding calls from parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors and others asking how they can help their community members.

"I think it's been a wake-up call for a lot of people," Preston said in an interview.

The Rainbow Youth Project is not alone; LGBTQ hotlines nationwide are seeing massive surges amid the fallout of the election, as LGBTQ Americans and their loved ones search for answers, reassurance and guidance about future LGBTQ rights in America.

The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization, said it saw an overall crisis outreach volume increase of nearly 700% on Nov. 6, compared to the weeks prior.

"It's just a general sense of fear, a sense of panic from young people who are reaching out; youth reporting feeling hopeless or helpless about what's to come," said Mandy Fuller, a senior manager of crisis services at the Trevor Project. She listened to concerns about anti-LGBTQ discrimination, the fate of transgender health care access, and whether LGBTQ policies in Project 2025 -- a conservative presidential wish list -- would be implemented.

The LGBT National Hotline, another crisis outreach center, told ABC News it has received five times the typical call volume: "It's been all hands on deck. Here, it is coming from all over the country. However, we are definitely seeing more calls coming from red states, though it's not a huge amount more than blue states. The fear is from all over the country. It is all ages," said Aaron Almanza, the program's executive director.

The Rainbow Youth Project found that typically about 19% of its callers will screen positive for suicidal ideation. Now, for the month of November, that's up to 31.6% of callers screening for acute mental health crisis with a specific notation of suicidal ideation.

As communities process what the recent elections mean for themselves and their loved ones, counselors and operators urge those who are feeling lonely, confused, helpless or scared to reach out to community members who can be supportive during this time -- even if that support is from an LGBTQ hotline. Organizations say they often field calls from rural areas with less local in-person resources like LGBTQ advocacy groups.

"Right now we need to find each other, because that local support is going to be hugely important for us to move forward," said Almanza.

Fuller, who has been at the Trevor Project for six years, found that youth just "want to be heard and supported," and has called upon allies to be a source for LGBTQ residents during this time.

"We hear that time and time again -- it's just wanting a place where they can share their fears, share, maybe the first time they're sharing what their identities are in a place that they feel safe to do so."

Preston encourages those who are experiencing despair to focus on the progress the LGBTQ community has made in recent years. A 2020 Pew Research Center study found that 72% of Americans believe homosexuality should be accepted, compared with just 49% in 2007. Additionally, Pew found that 64% of Americans favor laws that protect transgender individuals from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces.

As a gay man who came out in the '80s amid the fight for anti-employment discrimination policies and marriage equality, Preston notes the amount of progress that LGBTQ advocates have lobbied for in recent years: "We've been there. We know how to do this. We're going to be your voice if you can't be your own voice."

States nationwide have seen an increase in legislation and political rhetoric related to the LGBTQ community in recent years. In the 2024 legislative session, the American Civil Liberties Union tracked a record-breaking 532 anti-LGBTQ bills in state legislatures -- only about 46 of those have passed into law, with roughly 351 bills defeated.

Some of the most prominent legislative proposals included restrictions on transgender youth health care, trans participation in sports, pronoun changes in schools and classroom content on gender and sex. President-elect Donald Trump has said he will embrace these restrictions during his presidency, calling it "transgender insanity" and declaring that gender is "determined at birth" in his Agenda47 policy proposals focused on schools.

Trans high schoolers make up 3% of the high school population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Critics of this legislation said the rhetoric and legislative attacks will increase discrimination facing a small, marginalized community.

"I also want our LGBT+ youth to know that there are millions and millions of people fighting for their right to survive and thrive, and there is an expansive community of LGBTQ+ folks and allies who are shoulder to shoulder with them, and we simply will not give up," said Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.