Thousands more are affected by suicide each year, health officials say, but they are also reaching out for help. Over the past year, nearly 92,000 Utahns made calls to the national 988 hotline for help. More than 10,000 used the line for chats and texts.
Congress established the three digit call number – 988– in July 2022 specifically to help Americans address mental health concerns. It connects people with trained crisis workers who can listen and provide assistance.
Live On Utah is working to raise awareness about mental health and suicide, especially this weekend, as Sunday, Sept. 8 is National 988 Day, program administrator Carol Ruddell said.
According to Ruddell, the number one way to raise awareness about mental health and suicide is to talk about it.
“The myth is that if we talk about suicide, we're planting seeds. The reality is, someone is either thinking about it or they're not making that connection, talking about it. It reduces the stress, actually, and helps someone feel like they can do something about it.”
Live On Utah is a statewide effort looking to do just that: prevent suicide by promoting education, providing resources and changing the culture around suicide and mental health.
Ruddell also says the only way to reduce the number of deaths in the state is to know how to identify and look for warning signs in loved ones.
“Sometimes people may come to work on time or even early every day, but suddenly maybe they're a little late, or maybe it's someone who's always come to church and they're not there for a few weeks, and things are going on that you notice are different.”
She says if you notice something is off, address it.
“When we do address a warning sign, it's important to notice or to say that you notice something, by doing that we connect, we acknowledge this person, we value them, they suddenly feel like you notice that something's off with me, and that that connection is the best thing we can do.”
Calling 988 provides access to free and immediate emotional and mental health support from trained crisis workers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even holidays. Support is available to individuals in crisis and to anyone concerned about a friend or family member. More information can be found at 988.utah.gov.
