Salt Lake City: 12% increase in youth suicides

Aug 6, 2017, KSL-Salt Lake City: Safe UT app making inroads despite 36 youth suicides so far in 2017 https://www.ksl.com/?sid=45292036&nid=148 The SafeUT app is reaching a growing number of Utah students and connecting them to life-saving services, but the need for help is profound, said Rep. Steve Eliason, addressing the Utah State Board of Education Friday. Thirty-six Utah youths died by suicide this year through July, "which is a 12 percent increase from the worst previous period we had, which was through 2015 when we had 32 fatalities," the Sandy Republican said. The Utah Department of Health has not yet published the new statistics, but Eliason said he receives a monthly data report. "Unfortunately this number will do nothing but go up because it is preliminary," he said. There were five youth suicides in Utah during July alone, Eliason said. … After hearing the statistics, State School Board member Joel Wright asked Eliason why a growing number of Utah youths are taking their own lives, wondering aloud if the increase is due to social media, youths constantly comparing themselves to others, sexting, porn culture or drugs. "I mean what is this? Why? Why?" Wright said. The causes and drivers are "multifaceted and complex," Eliason said.