Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, joined by suicide prevention advocates and other state officials, declared September a month of awareness for suicide prevention on Wednesday. Speaking at the Capitol, Henderson reminded Utahns to maintain a close watch on loved ones and emphasized the 988 hotline is available for anyone needing to talk.
Henderson underscored that a significant act of bravery involves not only seeking help when needed but also noticing and acting when signs are observed in others. She stated that 709 Utahns took their own lives in 2025, noting that barriers to getting help include a lack of resources. However, Henderson pointed out that bystanders can intervene and assist by staying alert for warning signs and knowing where to turn for support.
The event also featured poignant remarks from Lindsay and Matt Albrecht, who spoke about Lindsay's brother, Quinn, of Holden. Quinn, a doting father and husband and a talented roper who was a fixture in Utah’s rodeo community, took his life in 2024. Matt Albrecht shared his personal experience with lifelong depression and suicidal ideation, admitting he did not realize Quinn was in crisis at the time of his death.
Looking back, Matt Albrecht recalled a conversation from about a month earlier where his brother-in-law expressed feeling poorly and almost came to Albrecht’s house. In hindsight, he recognized this as Quinn reaching out for help. Albrecht, pausing to compose himself, remembered, "I didn’t say, ‘you’re welcome any time.’" Going forward, he pledged, "I will notice the signs and speak up and make myself available to prevent suicide."
Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, shed light on the Utah genesis of the national 988 “lifeline.” He recounted how, more than a decade ago, he and former Utah Sen. Daniel Thatcher made several unsuccessful attempts to establish a three-digit mental health crisis line. They then brought their idea to Utah’s congressional delegation, urging former Utah Rep. Chris Stewart and the late Sen. Orrin Hatch to champion the cause. The Federal Communications Commission and Congress subsequently established 988 as the national crisis line in 2020, with the resource launching nationwide in 2022.
At the news conference on Wednesday, Eliason joined other officials and advocates in writing messages of encouragement and support on blue sticky notes. These notes were posted to two panels forming a partial, makeshift room in the Capitol rotunda, creating a display intended to convey to Utahns that "we’re in your corner."
Eliason noted a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in April, which recorded nearly 4,400 fewer suicides among young adults and teenagers than had been predicted in the hotline’s first two-and-a-half years. He also reported that Utah’s suicide rate has declined in the last decade, urging, "let’s keep this momentum going."
