Children and teens in crisis now have a new resource. An app developed by the U’s Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI) aims to reduce the suicide rate for young people in Utah.
SafeUT is an app funded by the Utah State Legislature that anyone — especially students — can use to receive support and counseling from the licensed staff at UNI.
“We’ve gotten a lot of feedback from students, and they’ve really appreciated the support and that we’re here,” said UNI crisis services manager Barry Rose. “We have been involved in many situations where a student was potentially in danger and we’ve been able to help them get services.”
Suicide is the number one cause of death for youth between the ages of 10 and 17 in Utah. SafeUT Crisis Text and Tip Line was designed for students to receive help in times of crisis and to provide an outlet to submit anonymous tips to school administrators about issues such as bullying, threats or violence. Over 160 Utah schools use the application.
The SafeUT program is a step in the right direction for suicide prevention, according to Rose. UNI aims to reverse the taboo surrounding suicide and create mental illness awareness while providing support to those who need help.
“There has been a dramatic improvement and shift in awareness in our culture, talking more openly about [suicide] and I think that really helps with stigma. The more we talk about it and normalize it, the easier it is for people that are struggling to open up. We still have a long way to go,” said Rose.
The next phase of the program is to spend more time promoting the application. The goal for UNI is to enroll all schools in Utah in the SafeUT program by next July. There are also plans to enroll universities in a similar program. According to Rose, there is still a lot of work to be done, but things are off to a good start.
UNI Crisis Therapist Darcy Elton said, “Since we’ve launched, we’ve helped countless people that might not have felt comfortable reaching out otherwise.”