Utah Pride Center is expanding suicide prevention resources as risk increases

As new research is published showing Utah in the top three states with the highest incidence of mental health conditions and number one in incidence of suicidal thoughts, the Utah Pride Center has announced an expansion of its suicide prevention services. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the Utah Pride Center announced a new program, Suicide Prevention and Services, which will greatly expand its reach to rural parts of the state and make mental health professionals more accessible.

This program is designed to expand access to education, tools, and resources to outlying parts of the state with an initial focus on St. George and Logan. “Our goal is to decrease suicide ideation and suicide attempts and increase grief support to survivors and access to LGBT-affirming services in more remote areas of Utah,” said Rob Moolman, executive director of the Utah Pride Center. “This couldn’t come at a more crucial time as LGBT youth especially are among the most at risk of suicide in our state.”

The Center is also creating an Emergency Therapist Roster to focus on postvention services or support following a suicide loss. To access the therapist roster people can call 1-833-LOSS-UPC.

Logan and St. George will also be able to expand existing programs of crisis intervention through Question Persuade Refer (QRP) training, peer support groups, family and caregiver support groups, SAGE for elders, support groups for survivors of suicide attempts, and survivors of suicide loss.

“Through this very critical work, we look to change the narrative and conversations around suicide to increase prevention and early intervention,” the Center said in a statement. “We are creating a team of community partners all across the state of Utah because we understand that we are stronger together. Here’s to increasing love, support, and community.”

A group called Psy.D. Programs analyzed 2020 data from Mental Health America, a non-profit association that measures mental health indicators via surveys and online screening tools. They found that the top three states with the highest incidence of mental health conditions are Idaho, Oregon, and Utah, all with close to 25 percent of adults showing these conditions.