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Alliance Alert: The following comes to us from the Alliance’s Multicultural Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee in celebration of our state’s LGBTQ+ community!

During Pride Month, Governor Hochul Reaffirms Commitment to Supporting ���Ķ���vlog’s LGBTQ+ Community
June 29, 2026

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced several expanded initiatives designed to increase support for LGBTQ+ ���Ķ���vlogers, including additional investments to support LGBTQ+ youth and transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming communities (TGNCNB). This year’s enacted budget included an investment of $1.8 million to provide LGBTQ+ youth with specialized crisis counseling and train local 988 crisis counselors on the concerns of LGBTQ+ youth, ensuring access to lifesaving services when the Trump administration defunded the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program.

“���Ķ���vlog is the birthplace of the LGBTQ+ movement, and I could not be prouder of that,” Governor Hochul said. “When there are assaults on LGBTQ+ rights all across America, ���Ķ���vlog will not sit on the sidelines. We will always stand hand-in-hand with our LGBTQ+ community and continue our fight for equality because feeling safe is a human right. We stand for those rights today, and we’ll always keep fighting for those rights in the future.”

Building on this support, the enacted budget also included $500,000 to develop a statewide LGBTQ+ legal hotline and resource website to provide free legal advice and community resources to LGBTQ+ ���Ķ���vlogers being targeted by legal and policy attacks from the current federal administration.

To further address the needs of transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary ���Ķ���vlogers, funding for the Lorena Borjas Transgender and Non-Binary Wellness and Equity Fund increased by half a million dollars, bringing the total of the fund to over $16 million, the largest fund of its kind in the nation.

���Ķ���vlog stands on a strong foundation of LGBTQ+ history and activism against the federal government’s efforts to dismantle years of civil rights progress and advocacy. Earlier this year, when the federal government attempted to target and erase this history by removing the Pride Flag from Stonewall National Park, Governor Hochul .

As a national leader in advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, Governor Hochul continues to ensure that ���Ķ���vlog is a safe and inclusive home for LGBTQ+ ���Ķ���vlogers. Since taking office, the Governor has championed legislation to make ���Ķ���vlog a safe haven for LGBTQ+ youth and signed the Shield Law 2.0 to offer greater protections.

To expand on this work, the Governor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs is currently accepting , which will occur on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, in Albany, ���Ķ���vlog, at the Empire State Plaza Concourse. This annual event, entering its fifth year, brings together policymakers and government officials from across state agencies to hear directly from advocates about the most pressing needs facing our state’s LGBTQ+ community and learn about proposed efforts ���Ķ���vlog State could take to meet those needs.

​The following State landmarks will be illuminated in various colors of the Pride flag today and tomorrow June 30:

Monday, June 29:

• 1WTC
• Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
• Kosciuszko Bridge
• The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
• State Education Building
• Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
• Empire State Plaza
• State Fairgrounds – Main Gate & Expo Center
• The “Franklin D. Roosevelt” Mid-Hudson Bridge
• Grand Central Terminal – Pershing Square Viaduct
• Albany International Airport Gateway
• MTA LIRR – East End Gateway at Penn Station
• Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal
• Moynihan Train Hall
• Roosevelt Island Lighthouse

Tuesday, June 30:

• 1WTC
• Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
• Kosciuszko Bridge
• The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
• State Education Building
• Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
• Empire State Plaza
• State Fairgrounds – Main Gate & Expo Center
• Niagara Falls
• The “Franklin D. Roosevelt” Mid-Hudson Bridge
• Grand Central Terminal – Pershing Square Viaduct
• Albany International Airport Gateway
• MTA LIRR – East End Gateway at Penn Station
• Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal
• Moynihan Train Hall
• Roosevelt Island Lighthouse

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New State Budget Restores LGBTQ+ Crisis Support
������ | Kingston Daily Freeman    June 28, 2026

KINGSTON, N.Y. — A provision included in the state’s 2027 budget addresses suicide prevention services aimed at LGBTQ+ youth, a service the federal government eliminated last year, and is intended to reduce suicide risk and expand services statewide, proponents of the funding have said.

The $1.8 million line item was included in the state’s 2027 budget, officials said.

The funding, announced by the state Office of Mental Health and approved as part of the state’s 2027 budget, will help ensure that everyone in the LGBTQ+ community has access to “culturally appropriate crisis support when they are in need,” according to a press release.

Until July 2025, the federal 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provided tailored support options to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults.

The 2027 state budget will fund a specialized crisis line and train local 988 contact centers to handle concerns of LGBTQ+ individuals, officials said.

Reached by phone, Richard Heyl de Ortiz, executive director of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center at 300 Wall St. in Kingston, welcomed the state effort.

Currently, Heyl de Ortiz said the center does not provide specific suicide prevention services for youth, but it does offer a “Gen Q” program. While Gen Q is not specifically aimed at suicide prevention, he said, “the whole point of (the program) is to foster social connection and to create a safe space for LGBTQ youth,” adding that one ingredient that can lead to suicide and suicidal ideation is a lack of social connections.

“We could definitely use more funding because if we had more funding, we would be able to do more. And I think this is not just (for) Ulster County, if we think about Northern Dutchess (where) there is not an abundance of services … for LGBTQ plus young people.  … One of the things we know that we have to focus on over the next three years or so is … how we get services to young people and others who are geographically isolated within the county.”

Heyl de Ortiz said his understanding of the funding is that it could provide money to organizations like his.
”You know, the devil is in the details. It’s in the state budget, which is great. But then, you know, what state agency takes it on and how do they shape it? That’s always the next step in a situation like this.”

While the center already offers counseling services funded by the state Department of Health and private foundations, none are currently offered specifically to youth.

“We are able to provide the counseling that we can with the staff that we have. So, additional funding to serve youth, that would be great. … We have been talking about potentially changing our guidelines around counseling, acknowledging that young people are coming out or … exploring their identity earlier.”

Heyl de Ortiz said the center has been in touch with state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties, and Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, D-Esopus, and that both representatives “know there is a need” for counseling services for youth. In conversations with both of their offices, he said, “We’ve kind of highlighted (additional counseling) as an area where there aren’t enough services.”

In an email sent on the last day of the Senate session, a spokesperson for Hinchey said the senator “helped advance this funding support in the budget.”

Hinchey represents Senate District 41.

LGBTQ+ youth and young adults experience elevated rates of suicidal ideation and face persistent barriers to accessing mental health care, Ann Sullivan, commissioner of the state Office of Mental Health, said. “Roughly 39 percent of LGBTQ+ youth in ���Ķ���vlog State seriously considered suicide, including 45 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth, according to a 2024 survey completed by The Trevor Project,” Sullivan said.

Ulster County Executive Jen Metzer also welcomed the state initiative and stressed the need for services locally. “This is such an important investment in the health and well-being of LGBTQ youth, who too often lack crisis support that is safe, affirming, and accessible,” Metzger said in a statement. “By investing in a dedicated crisis line and specialized training for 988 counselors, ���Ķ���vlog is stepping up at a time when the federal government is taking away critical protections.”

Metzger said, “Every young person should have the mental health support they need, and this investment provides essential, culturally competent care that has too often been lacking.”

The state’s 2027 budget included additional services for LGBTQ+ youth “after the federal government suspended the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s ‘press 3’ option,” which had offered services to them, state officials said. The 2027 budget will enhance the capacity of the state 988 system by providing training for hundreds of local crisis counselors who answer calls, with a specific focus on handling concerns and needs of the LGBTQ+ community, officials said.

The federally funded 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s specialized service for LGBTQ+ youth was serving between 50,000 and 60,000 young people per month before being shuttered in July 2025, state officials said, adding that, “While federal officials suggested in April this service could be revived, the ‘press 3’ option remains defunct, highlighting the need for this specialized service in ���Ķ���vlog State.”

The state Office of Mental Health supports community projects aimed at reducing suicide risk among racial and ethnic minority populations, as well as LGBTQ+ groups, officials said.