SALT LAKE CITY — Next week 300 educators from across the state will converge in Provo with one goal: preventing suicide.
They will learn that Utahns continue to take their own lives at record pace, and that some students remain vulnerable to making a fatal decision.
"I think the suicide number is on track to be the highest ever this year," Dr. Todd Grey, Utah's Chief Medical Examiner, said.
As of Oct. 31, the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner had classified 483 deaths as suicide — 10 more than the same period last year. Preliminary data from the Utah Department of Health indicates there were a total of 562 suicide deaths in Utah in 2012.
The persistence of suicide in Utah, which claimed more than a life a day, last year, is not one Grey can ignore.
"I did three cases on Monday all of whom are suicides," Grey said. "You just sort of say, 'What a terrible waste.'"
Hope4Utah's 14th Annual Suicide Prevention Conference Wednesday will focus on intervention and helping suicidal students, part of the organization's ongoing effort to educate in the hope of saving lives.
This past summer, both the Utah State Office of Education and Department of Human Services hired suicide prevention coordinators, as directed by legislative action during the 2013 session. And they, too, say education is the answer to preventing suicide.
The Utah chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention held an "Out of the Darkness" walk in Sugar House Park in September where 2,000 participants raised $81,000.
Taryn Aiken, Chair of the Utah chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, lost her father to suicide 11 years ago. At the time, the only resource she could find in the state was a single support group in Davis County, so she went online, found the foundation and resolved to bring a chapter to Utah.
"I just felt it was something we needed to do," she said.
The chapter was chartered three years ago, but Aiken has spearheaded the "Out of the Darkness" walk for seven years. This year was the best for both participant turnout and fundraising.
"I think we're growing in numbers because people are realizing there's something here," she said. "We can bring survivors together so they know they're not alone and there's something you can do."
Greg Hudnall, executive director of Hope4Utah, spent years working to get — and maintain — a zero suicide rate as an associate superintendent in the Provo School District. Now, it's his sole focus at Hope4Utah.
In addition to the training, the organization held a conference for "hope squads" statewide in September. The squads are made up of students trained to help and support their peers who may be struggling with thoughts of suicide.
Hudnall said they were doing trainings for teachers, counselors, scoutmasters and parents and realized, "the one piece we were missing was the peer to peer within the school," he said.
"Seven out of 10 kids who take their lives give some kind of clue," Hudnall said. "They will tell a friend, give away a prized possession. A lot of times the parents have no idea, but the kids' friends do."
They asked every student at Timpview High School to list a person they could talk to when they were struggling and the names of the same 40 students rose to the top. The students made up the first hope squad, which Hudnall said was a "huge success."
"We haven't had a suicide in eight years," he said. "The hope squads weren't the only piece, but it was the final piece that was missing."
There are currently 35 active hope squads in schools across Utah with another 13 planning to launch a squad in January.
Meantime, Aiken is working as part of the suicide prevention coalition that includes Debi Lewis and Kim Myers, suicide prevention coordinators from the Utah State Office of Education and Department of Human Services, respectively. She said she is excited about the opportunity to get information out.
"Education's got to be the answer," she said. "We just have to get people to be willing to let it happen."
Grey said he wishes there was a magic formula to prevent suicide, but knows there isn't one, that suicide is both complicated and personal.
"The problem is when you see a number like 540 or 602 or whatever the annual number is going to be, it's a one-off number and people go, 'That's terrible' and that's a number that's pretty easy to forget until it comes back next year," he said.
But it's a real and unforgettable figure for those affected by it. Beyond the examinations, there is a personal side to Grey's job as he is often charged with explaining the death to the families of those who are lost.
"It's a rich emotional stew," he said. "There's anger and guilt, there's sadness… there's a lot going on in the people who are left behind."
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