Richard Potts, with the Outpatient Psychology Clinic at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, said the two main drugs of choice in Utah are heroin and methamphetamine. He also said recovery from drugs and escaping suicide are possible with the correct treatment.

Recognizing those at risk for suicide remains a key step in helping save lives. In Utah, 80 to 90 percent of people who commit suicide are boys. And nationwide, 90 percent of people who commit suicide have a psychiatric disorder or substance-abuse problems, said Sherri Wittwer, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Utah.

Wittwer said parents should trust their feelings about their children if they believe something isn't right. She gave several warning signs of suicide, including hopelessness, increase in risky activities, threatening or talking about hurting and/or killing themselves, a preoccupation with death or increased alcohol and drug use.

She also said that people shouldn't feel guilty after the suicide of someone they know or love.

"People can do all the right things and we'll still lose them," she said. She said everything possible should be done to save those contemplating suicide, and most of them can be saved.

For information about suicide prevention and awareness, visit www.namiut.org or www.networkofcare.org. For the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, call 1-800-273-8255.

Provo City School District, Intermountain Healthcare, Wasatch Mental Health, Utah Division of Substance Abuse & Mental Health and others sponsored the conference, which several hundred people attended.

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E-mail: csmith@desnews.com