LGBTQ Suicide hotline getting shut down

So are we now down with asking our psychiatrist if they are straight or gay before determining if they are capable of helping us?

 

I read this entire post and agree with everything you said. My original question still stands. What is the financial benefit from this action? Because, having an "Option 3" on a call menu surely is not costing this program anything. Further, if what you are saying is true, and I am conceding it is, then you simply have the same pool of crisis operators receiving calls , but callers "believe" that "option 3" is getting them directed to someone who has more empathy for their background. By retaining "option 3", you create the illusion of an even safer space for LGBTQ+ kids to call and in so doing encourage them to make this call rather than the alternative.

So, other than just pissing off right-wingers that this is an option, I have still not hear anyone tell us why have an "Option 3" is so horrible and needs to be eliminated? This sounds like a solution to a problem that did not exist.

 

Huh? I don't think the employees of this line were all gay. Nor are many of the callers to it (many LGBTQ people aren't "gay" as that is only only one of the identities contained in that term). The issue is about background and experience. Again, based on Bluke's explanation, I will buy that this doesn't matter much for the hotline in particular. But therapists often need to develop backgrounds in issues related to gender or sexual orientation in order to effectively help people with issues arising from those topics. That is because people aren't homogenous nor do issues always arise in the same manner.

 

Oh sorry, which of the LGBTQ do not consider themselves gay?

 

MD it matters in that with this "Line 3" option in particular kids have confidence that should they choose to call the bias they experience in the real world won't carry over to this most vulnerable of decisions (calling a stranger for help with one of the darkest things a human can imagine).

Even if it's placebo that is an ENORMOUS thing that undoubtedly gets some percentage of callers over the hurdle to actually call. And as I pointed out earlier, no money is being saved by removing it. The perception and the message sent by its removal is the thing (and not a good thing if you're a person feeling alone and vulnerable)

 

So you think that the folks that work for the suicided hotline are biased?

 

No. But what's important in this discussion are the callers who need help. Bluke is basically saying any port in a storm, and I think we all agree anyone calling should get the help they need. And by providing an option for LGBTQ kids, you likely increase their chances of calling, not hanging up, and getting the needed help.

 

"G" stands for gay. A trans person is not, by definition, "gay." Neither is a bisexual or queer person. Theoretically, a trans person could be "gay" as well, but they are not necessarily.

 

That statement is not about the hotline workers, it’s about the people making the call, and what the world has shown them to bring them to the brink of making the call. With compassion, THAT is why a dedicated line was created.

This is why I state that even as a placebo the gesture has impact.

 

Since we are predisposed as humans to be attracted to the opposite sex- those that are attracted to the same sex have a misfire in their brain(this does not mean they are mentally ill). they were born with this misfire and there is nothing they or anyone else can do to change it- now trans people are another matter all together- trans is a mental illness

 

Good post…I’m in too deep tonight to post.
After a few more drinks I doubt I’ll be able to get in there.
Maybe Monday. I don’t know yet ha.

 

We have a winner. Google the subject and add a specific location and there will be plenty of options for those considering suicide to get help. We don’t need the federal government getting involved in providing suicide hotlines for the LBGTQ community when there are many other local resources available.

 

Why do they need a specialized service? They say they don’t have any mental issues & they are normal like everyone else. So use the same hotline. It’s really that simple.

 

Trump admin beginning to make same mistakes Democrats have been making for years. Pandering to the fringe. What’s the harm in keeping a suicide hotline open? JFC, this and the Juneteenth post are so un-Trump like. Neither make any sense whatsoever. Is Stephen Miller secretly running the country right now?

 

Sorry, I can’t get down with this. All lives matter. This is a subsidy I can be very okay with, even if I don’t identify with the recipient. Even though, I kinda do. In that, we are all humans.

 

I got nothing from this other than @Orange_and_Bluke is giving out his personal cell number.

 

BS. Then why not end 988 all together? If kids want to kill themselves, let them find expensive private therapists or just go ahead and kill themselves, right? That is the Conservative way. Oh, but we are not ending this horrific government expense, only the "option 3" (which almost certainly adds no additional expense to this program). Why not end it all if it is not the governments place to keep kids from killing themselves?