Local organizations in San Luis Obispo County such as Transitions-Mental Health and Lumina Alliance are reacting after the Trump Administration canceled more than $125 million in grant funding for LGBTQ+ health.
According to a recent survey done by the county, Mental Health Clinical Director Meghan Boaz Alvarez said local LGBTQ+ community members thought about suicide within the last year at triple the rate of their non-LGBTQ+ peers.
The suicide prevention hotline dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth (988) is among services targeted for cuts. Transitions-Mental Health has already seen an increase in crisis line calls and therapy needs through their Central Coast Hotline number (800-783-0607).
“Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth 10 to 14 [years old] and I believe it's third for 15 to 24 [year olds]," Boaz Alvarez said. "So, that's a public health issue, right? If our youth are dying of suicide, that's something that as a larger community we're concerned about and we want to pay attention to.”
Boaz Alvarez says Transitions-Mental Health, along with other agencies, will have to start sunsetting programs depending on priority level.
According to the SLO County Public Health Department, suicide is the leading cause of death in the county, with rates higher for the LGBTQ+ community.
“What I see is a sweeping, dehumanization of a very large, very important, very real group of humans," said Lumina Alliance Chief People and Culture Officer Sam Gottlieb.
Public health cuts are not only associated with the LGBTQ+ community, but other areas that rely on county, federal, and state funding. Lumina Alliance provides support for victims of crime, and according to their Community Impact and Volunteer Director Jatzibe Sandoval, they were informed a resource center for victims was defunded and closing down, unrelated to the LGBTQ+ community.
“The way that our funds are being restricted, it happens almost simultaneously," Sandoval said. "It's like that fear of what's going to come next? Right? We're truly living in survival mode right now.”
Sandoval also says federal changes are not only changing on a day-to-day basis, but by the hour.
