Utah First Lady Announced Awareness Campaign To Combat Youth Suicide Rates

Utah's first lady, Abby Cox, announced a new campaign to raise awareness of the high suicide rates among youth.

Deseret News reported that the "new mental health well-being campaign in rural Wasatch County middle and high schools" continue to combat the soaring rates.

Cox said in a videoconference with students and school administrators:

"I believe that Utah is a unique state with a unique culture, and it's up to us to come together to reduce judgement and stigma around mental health issues so those who are struggling can find help in a community of understanding and support."

The Wasatch County School District, the Utah Department of Human Services, and the statewide LiveOn suicide prevention campaign are working together to launch the campaign.

Wasatch Behavioral Health Trudy Brereton said that the campaign is about "truly engaging in conversation around reaching out, lifting others up and preventing suicide."

Cox said, "I'm proud of the work we've done and the progress we've made, but like all of you, I recognize that there needs to be more done."

The program will have a series of messaged promoting available resources to help those in need.

According to Cox, research shows that talking about suicide helps to prevent it from happening.

Cox said:

"When we talk about it, when we share, when we ask someone how they're feeling and if they need help, and if they're contemplating suicide, that actually does the opposite. It helps people, it helps people live on."

Click here to see more about the campaign.

The Utah Department of Health offers suicide prevention help at utahsuicideprevention.org/suicide-prevention-basics. The national crisis hotline is 1-800-784-2433. Help is also available on the SafeUT app.

Photo: Getty Images