‘Wake-up call’: LGBTQ crisis hotlines see surge of calls amid presidential election
Simona Granati – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Rainbow Youth Project, a national LGBTQ advocacy group, typically fields about 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 5,400.
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 Paul, 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.
Paul, 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.
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.
(NEW YORK) — Steve Witkoff — a friend of, and donor to, former President Donald Trump — told ABC News’ Good Morning America on Tuesday that Secret Service agents protecting the Republican presidential nominee during Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt did “exactly what they’re supposed to do.”
Witkoff was with the former president at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Secret Service agents fired several shots at would-be gunman Ryan Wesley Routh, who was allegedly concealed in a tree line 300 to 500 yards from the Republican presidential nominee.
“We were having a great day,” Witkoff said of the incident, during which Secret Service agents rushed Trump to a safe location.
He added that, after hearing the first shot, “I saw the Secret Service do exactly what they’re supposed to do, which was get right on top of the president.” There were “a whole bunch” of agents on top of Trump, Witkoff said.
“They did that job in an exemplary way,” he said. “I was almost mesmerized by everything that was happening.”
“In quick succession, there were four shots and then the Secret Service was whisking him out of there, getting him back to the club house, as he’s the first priority — he’s the protectee,” Witkoff said. “They were engaging in that corner on the sixth hole where evidently … this would-be assassin had put himself, had created a sort of lair there.”
Trump, he said, was “looking over” and “gesturing” to the area at which the Secret Service agents fired. As he was rushed away, the former president appeared “very concerned” about the friends and staffers with him on the course, Witkoff said.
“That’s all he was concerned about,” Witkoff said.
Routh, 58, lay in wait for Trump for nearly 12 hours, authorities said. Secret Service Acting Director Ron Rowe Jr. said the suspect did not fire any shots or have a line of sight on the former president at any time.
Secret Service agents spotted Routh’s gun barrel poking out from the tree line near the sixth green, authorities said. After they fired at the suspect, Routh fled leaving behind a digital camera, two bags including a backpack, and a loaded SKS-style 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope.
Routh was detained attempting to leave the area in a vehicle, a witness having reported his license plate number to police. He appeared in court on Monday and currently faces two felony gun charges.
Trump said during an online conversation on the platform X — formerly known as Twitter — that he “was with an agent and the agent did a fantastic job.” The former president posted to the Truth Social platform soon after the incident on Sunday: “I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes – It was certainly an interesting day!”
(Delphi, IND.) — Delphi, Indiana, murder suspect Richard Allen allegedly confessed to the crime in multiple jail phone calls to his wife, which were played for the jury on Thursday.
In one call, Allen told his wife, Kathy, “I did it. I killed Abby and Libby.”
“No, you didn’t,” she said. Allen replied, “Yes, I did.”
“Why would you say that?” Kathy said. “I know you didn’t. There’s something wrong.”
In another call, Allen told his wife, “I think maybe I’ve lost my mind. … I need you to know I did this.”
She replied, “No, you haven’t. You’re unwell.”
Allen is accused of killing Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams 13, on a hiking trail in February 2017. He’s pleaded not guilty to murder.
In a separate call, Allen said to his wife, “If I get the electric chair or the death penalty, will you be there for me? I killed Abby and Libby.”
In another call, Allen said, “I did it, Kathy. I did it. Do you still love me?”
She replied, “Yes, I do. But you didn’t do it.”
“I don’t want to upset you. I’m sorry,” Allen told his wife. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know if I’ve lost my mind.”
“I feel like I’m already in hell,” he told her later in the call. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Allen also allegedly confessed to corrections officers and a prison psychologist, according to their testimonies. But Allen’s mental state while in custody has come into question.
A psychologist testified this week that Allen could be classified as having serious mental illness. Allen was in solitary confinement for 13 months, which she said can be detrimental to a person’s mental health.
The psychologist said she believed Allen suffered from “situational psychosis” in jail. She said Allen would have episodes of psychosis and then it would go into remission.
Allen’s strange behavior in custody included hitting his head on the wall, washing his face in the toilet, refusing food, eating paper, smearing feces in his cell and putting feces on his face for two hours, according to testimony from corrections officers.
On the day of the murders, Libby and Abby saw a man behind them on the bridge, and Libby started recording on her phone, prosecutors said. The man — known as “bridge guy,” from the video of his voice released to the public — pulled out a gun and ordered the girls to go “down the hill,” prosecutors said.
Indiana State Police trooper Brian Harshman, who said he listened to 700 of Allen’s calls and monitored his texts and video chats, testified Thursday that after listening to the calls, he believes Allen is the voice on Libby’s “bridge guy” video.
The psychologist testified that Allen told her he ordered the girls “down the hill” and intended to rape them, but then he saw something — either a person or a van — and was startled.
Harshman told the jurors he believed Allen was startled by a van belonging to resident Brad Weber. Weber, who lives near the crime scene, owns a 2000 Ford Econoline van. Harshman said the time it would’ve taken Weber to drive home from work fits with the timing of the murders.
Defense attorney Brad Rozzi said police never investigated how many vans were registered in the county at the time of the murders. Rozzi also noted that numerous people were suspected of being the man in the “bridge guy” video, including Weber.
An ABC News graphic shows the latest weather conditions and warnings in the wake of Helene, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. — ABC News
(NEW YORK) — The storm surge, wind damage and inland flooding from Hurricane Helene have been catastrophic, flooding neighborhoods, stranding residents, destroying homes and toppling trees in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
Dozens have been killed.
Helene, which made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region Thursday night as a massive Category 4 hurricane, was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend on record.
Here’s how the news is developing:
FEMA has delivered 1 million liters of water and 600K meals to North Carolina
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called the impact of Hurricane Helene on the state “absolutely catastrophic” in a statement Monday.
“This is an unprecedented response and an absolutely enormous coordinated effort by the state, federal and local partners,” Cooper said.
Cooper, who inspected the staging area at the Asheville airport Monday, said “Hundreds of thousands of pounds of supplies are being flown in, packed onto helicopters and flown into areas that can’t be reached by vehicles.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has delivered 1 million liters of water and 600,000 meals to people in North Carolina, Cooper said.
The governor added that there are 92 search and rescue teams working to help bring residents to safety.
Biden says he’ll travel to North Carolina on Wednesday
President Joe Biden told reporters from the Oval Office he will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday to survey the damage.
He said he plans to land in Raleigh for a briefing and then do an aerial tour of Asheville to avoid straining on-the-ground resources.
He said he will visit Georgia and Florida “as soon as possible after that.”
Asked by ABC News’ Karen Travers how Americans can help out, Biden recommended people reach out to the Red Cross — and gear up for a long recovery.
“There is a lot to do, and this is just beginning,” Biden said. “We’ve been through this before, but not — not like this. This is the worst ever.”
Harris to impacted communities: ‘Our nation is with you’
Vice President Kamala Harris called the storm damage throughout the Southeast the “worst destruction and devastation that we have seen in quite some time” during remarks from FEMA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., Monday afternoon.
“In coordination with state and local officials, President Biden and I will continue to make sure that communities have the support and the resources that they need — not only to respond to this storm and its immediate aftermath, but also the resources they will need to recover,” Harris said.
Harris said more than 3,300 federal personnel are on the ground to assist with recovery efforts, including deploying food, water and generators as well as helping to restore water and power.
“To everyone who has been impacted by this storm, and to all of those of you who are rightly feeling overwhelmed by the destruction and the loss, our nation is with you,” she said. “We will continue to do everything we can to help you recover and to help you rebuild. No matter how long it takes.”
Harris said she has spoken to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and plans to be “on the ground as soon as possible” without disrupting any emergency response operations.
Storm ‘unprecedented’ for western North Carolina
Helene is “an unprecedented storm” for western North Carolina, requiring an “unprecedented response,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday.
“We’re dealing with a situation that is unlike anybody’s ever seen in western North Carolina,” he said.
The damage is “extensive and devastating” and is “going to require significant resources, both in the short-term and the long-term,” the governor said.
Ninety-two rescue teams are out conducting search and rescues right now, Cooper said.
More than 300 roads are closed and some bridges have been destroyed, officials said.
Over 7,000 North Carolina residents have registered for FEMA individual assistance and that money is already flowing in, according to Will Ray, director of North Carolina Emergency Management.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell promised that the agency will “be here as long as it takes to finish this response and continue through the recovery.”
“We have the resources here in North Carolina to help,” Criswell said. “We will continue to send additional resources in.”
Full extent of damage still unclear: Homeland security adviser
Homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood Randall said the full extent of the damage from the hurricane is still unclear.
“It probably will take several more days, as communities begin to be opened up by the debris clearance on the roads, and we can get in, and really understand what’s happened to them,” she said.
Sherwood-Randall said about 600 people are unaccounted for.
“We’re very hopeful that some of those people just don’t have cellphones working and actually are alive,” she said.
Sherwood-Randall said 3,500 federal response personnel have been deployed to the region and additional personnel is expected to arrive in the coming days.
With communication remaining a major challenge, Sherwood-Randall said, “Today, FEMA will install 30 Starlink receivers in western North Carolina to provide immediate connectivity for those in greatest need.”
She also highlighted that in states that have received major disaster declarations, FEMA is working to distribute serious needs assistance, which gives “an immediate $750 direct payment to eligible households, to allow them to pay for essential items like food, baby formula, water, medications and other emergency supplies.”
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Sen. Rick Scott calls for Senate to reconvene to pass emergency aid
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is calling upon the Senate to reconvene to approve an emergency aid package for victims of Hurricane Helene.
“While I know from my experience with previous hurricanes that FEMA and [Small Business Administration] damage assessments take time, I am today urging Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to immediately reconvene the U.S. Senate when those assessments are completed so that we can pass the clean supplemental disaster funding bill and other disaster relief legislation, like my Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, needed to ensure the full recovery of families in all impacted communities,” Scott said in a statement Monday.
Any additional funding, beyond the funding approved by President Joe Biden and able to be drawn down from FEMA, would need to be approved by both chambers of Congress.
The Senate let out on Wednesday after approving a stopgap funding bill to keep the government funded through Dec. 20. The Senate is not scheduled to return until Nov. 12. The House is also out of session and would need to return to approve any aid.
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
How to help
Click here for a list of charities and organizations that are supporting relief efforts, including the Red Cross and Americares.
Trump visits hard-hit Valdosta, Georgia
Former President Donald Trump visited hard-hit Valdosta in southern Georgia on Monday to distribute supplies and “stand in complete solidarity with … all of those suffering in the terrible aftermath of Hurricane Helene.”
“Valdosta has been ravaged,” Trump said. “The town is, very, very badly hurting, and many thousands are without power. They’re running low on food and fuel. We brought a lot of it down with us.”
“We’ll continue to help until you’re bigger, better, stronger than ever before,” Trump said.
The former president held a “moment of silence and prayer” for those killed in the storm.
Twenty-five people in Georgia have died in the storm, Gov. Brian Kemp said.
Trump said he’ll also visit North Carolina as the state works to recover from Helene.
Biden plans to visit storm zone Wednesday or Thursday
President Joe Biden said Monday that Helene is “not just a catastrophic storm — it’s a historic, history-making storm.”
Biden said he will travel to the impact zone as soon as possible, ideally Wednesday or Thursday. He said he’s been told it’d be disruptive to visit immediately, and he does not want to interfere with these areas accessing the relief they desperately need.
“Communities are devastated. Loved ones waiting, not sure if their loved ones are OK, and they can’t contact them because there’s no cellphone connections. Many more folks displaced have no idea when they’ll be able to be return to their home, if ever, if there’s a home to return to,” he said.
“There’s nothing like wondering, ‘Is my husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, alive?’ And many more who remain without electricity, water, food and communications,” he said.
Biden said he’s directed his team “to provide every available resource as fast as possible.”
Biden vowed, “We’re not leaving until the job is done.”
Helene ‘spared no one’ in Georgia, governor says
Hurricane Helene “literally spared no one” in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday.
Twenty-five people in Georgia have died in the storm, Kemp said. The victims include: a 27-year-old mother and her 1-month-old twin boys, who died when a tree fell on their home; Leon Davis, an assistant fire chief from Blackshear, who died when a tree fell on his car while he was responding to a call; and a 7-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl who died when a tree fell on their burning house, he said.
More than 500,000 customers in Georgia remain without power after Helene damaged over 5,000 poles, the governor said. Kemp said Georgia Power officials are calling Helene the most devastating storm they’ve faced.
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit hard-hit Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday.
35 dead, hundreds unaccounted for in hard-hit Buncombe County, North Carolina
Thirty-five people are dead and 600 people remain unaccounted for in hard-hit Buncombe County, North Carolina, which encompasses Asheville, according to county officials.
County officials said people will go door-to-door to check on those who have been reported missing.
Shelters are at capacity, officials said.
The city of Asheville has partnered with Verizon to establish a temporary cellphone tower, officials said.
-ABC News’ Alex Faul and Jessica Gorman
600 people still unaccounted for in hard-hit Buncombe County, North Carolina
Six-hundred people remain unaccounted for in hard-hit Buncombe County, North Carolina, which encompasses Asheville, according to county officials.
County officials said people will go door-to-door to check on those who have been reported missing.
Thirty people in Buncombe County have been confirmed dead from the hurricane, the sheriff said Sunday.
Buncombe County remains under a state of emergency.
-ABC News’ Jessica Gorman
Helene remnants move into mid-Atlantic
After dumping more than 30 inches of rain on North Carolina and producing the biggest local flood in recorded history, the remnants of Helene are forecast to move on Monday into the mid-Atlantic.
As southeastern United States worked to clean up from Helene, some of its remnants are moving into Mid-Atlantic today with heavy rain forecast for West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.
There is an elevated flood threat on Monday in Virginia and West Virginia, where the already saturated ground could get additional 1 to 2 inches of rain, which could produce flash flooding.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
Harris planning visit to communities impacted by Helene
Vice President Kamala Harris intends to communities impacted by Hurricane Helene “as soon as it is possible without disrupting emergency response operations,” according to a White House official.
Harris, who was briefed by FEMA on the federal response to the hurricane, reached out to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
At a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, Harris addressed those who were impacted by the hurricane by sending her “thoughts and prayers” and thanking first responders.
“I know that everyone here sends their thoughts and prayers for folks who have been so devastated in Florida, in Georgia, the Carolinas and other impacted states. And we know that so many have been impacted. Some have died, but I want to thank everyone for doing everything you can to think about them,” Harris said. “Send them your thoughts and your prayers. I want to thank the first responders who have done so much. I stand with these communities for as long as it takes to make sure that they are able to recover and rebuild.”
-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie
Gov. DeSantis says power restored to all but 111K in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shared a major update on power restoration progress in the state on Sunday.
DeSantis said a post on X that most customers who lost power after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend area last week, have had their electricity restored.
The governor said power was back for 2.3 million customers, and 99% of the state has power.
He added that power remains out for 111,000 customers.
Biden intends to visit hurricane zone this week
President Joe Biden spent his Sunday evening receiving briefings on the damage from Hurricane Helene, and speaking to local officials from the impacted areas.
In a statement, the White House said Biden intends to travel to the impacted areas this week, “as soon as it will not disrupt emergency operations.”
Additionally, Biden spoke by phone Sunday with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Valdosta, Georgia, Mayor Scott Matheson and Taylor County, Florida, emergency management director John Louk, according to the White House.
The president also reached out to additional officials across North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina.
“In each conversation, the President received updates on response and recovery efforts, and he shared how the Biden-Administration will continue providing support to impacted communities – for as long as it takes,” the White House said in the statement.
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Trump to visit Valdosta, Georgia
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday to receive a briefing on the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, help distribute supplies and deliver remarks, his campaign said.
President Joe Biden said Sunday that the photographs showing Hurricane Helene’s damage are “stunning.”
When asked by reporters about his message to the victims, Biden said, “It’s tragic.”
“My FEMA advisor is on the ground in Florida right now. … We’re working hard,” Biden said.
Asked by ABC News if there are more resources the federal government could be providing, Biden responded, “No, we’ve given them. We have pre-planned a significant amount, even though they didn’t ask for it yet — hadn’t asked for it yet.”
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
25 dead in South Carolina
Hurricane Helene’s impact on South Carolina has been “devastating,” and the storm has claimed the lives of 25 people in the state, Gov. Henry McMaster said Sunday.
“We don’t want to lose any more,” McMaster said.
Nearly 1.3 million customers lost power in South Carolina at Helene’s peak. As of Sunday afternoon, more than 800,000 customers remain in the dark.
The governor emphasized that power companies are working around the clock to restore electricity. Thousands of workers are on the ground, but downed trees tangled in power lines are delaying efforts, he said.
-ABC News’ Jason Volack
FEMA sending more search and rescue teams to North Carolina
FEMA Director Deanne Criswell said the agency is sending more search and rescue teams to western North Carolina, where residents are facing “historic” flooding from Hurricane Helene.
“I don’t know that anybody could be fully prepared for the amount of flooding and landslides that they are experiencing right now. But we have had teams in there for several days. We’re sending more search and rescue teams in there,” Criswell told CBS’ Face the Nation.
Gov. Roy Cooper described Hurricane Helene’s damage in western North Carolina as “catastrophic.”
“This unprecedented storm dropped from 10 to 29 inches of rain across the mountains, leading to life-threatening floods and landslides,” he said Sunday.
Water systems have been impacted and some roads have washed away, hampering the ability for officials to set up food and water distribution sites.
“We have sent bottled water in, but we also have the Army Corps of Engineers that’s getting ready to start assessments today to see what we can do to help get those water systems back online quickly,” Criswell said.
“We’re also moving in satellite communications, Starlink satellites, into the area to help facilitate the lack of communication that part of the state is experiencing,” Criswell added.
