Trump’s 2nd term has been overwhelming, frightening for many in the LGBTQ+ community

The first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term have been overwhelming and frightening for many in the LGBTQ+ community.

Starting on day one, Trump issued executive orders which directly impacted the LGBTQ+ community. Nate Rhoton is the CEO of One-n-Ten, an LGBTQ+ youth advocacy group. He says the response from the community was immediate.

"And that was a 700% increase in the calls to the Trevor Project's crisis or suicide hotline or text line.  And that has continued to today," he says.

The Trevor Project is a national LGBTQ advocacy organization.

"There's fears of being tracked and identified in certain databases as being LGBTQ," Rhoton says.

He says there are even families from Phoenix who have decided to leave the country, in part because of one order that limited gender affirming care under the age of 19.

"There's a patchwork system of folks trying to assist in these situations but unfortunately, many of these young people have had to make the difficult decision to stop their transition and that can be medically dangerous as well," Rhodon says.

Megan McCoy is a co-facilitator with the Arizona Alliance for LGBTQ Equity and Aging. She says some providers worry about the orders focusing on DEI.

"And the impact that they are having on the aging services delivery system, both nationally and locally in terms of, for example, Area Agencies on Aging … some of whom have taken great strides in recent years to be more inclusive," McCoy says.