Utah blueprint targets suicide epidemic

"My children are the reason I was born, but it's time that they have some semblance of normalcy. I'll never, ever be able to revive that for them. But what I can give them is my eternal love ... to be their guardian angel. ... This is my last gesture of true love." — From a voice-mail to her therapist, just before 34-year-old Shawna Nielson took her life by intentionally overdosing on prescription medication.

Every day, Utah loses one of its own to suicide.

On Thursday, Utah officials announced a comprehensive plan to prevent the dynamic long considered an epidemic in the Beehive State.

"Follow the blueprint," said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff in issuing a call to action on the subject. "It's all here."

Nielson's sister, Cherie Burton, worked on the just-released Utah Suicide Prevention Plan and hopes it eventually will help other families avoid what hers went through after her sister, a mother of five, committed suicide.

"As a family, we now join together with the other survivors of suicide as we send this united message: 'The cycle of suicide stops here.'"

The plan outlines 10 goals to take place during the next five years in an effort to change policies and attitudes and ultimately prevent more Utahns from taking their own lives.

The goals have specific objectives and recommendations on topics such as promoting awareness and reducing stigma of suicide, developing and promoting clinical and professional practices, broad support for suicide-prevention programs and specific goals for police, schools, clergy, associations and others.

Several people at the morning press conference said some hurdles continue to stymie prevention efforts.

"It is not shameful to ask for help," said Utah first lady Mary Kaye Huntsman, who has emerged as a strong advocate for suicide prevention as founder of the Power in You program.

The stigma associated with suicide and mental illness must be reduced, she said. For example, there should be no difference between spending the day with a child in chemotherapy and spending the day with a child in a psychiatric ward.

"Either way, you have a child who is very sick," she said. "We need to put our arms around those in need. Cancer can happen to anyone. So can mental illness. Both hurt. Both cause anxiety and fear."

Sheri Wittwer, director of the National Association on Mental Illness in Utah, said people should deal with suicide proactively and not just at the point of crisis — the point when someone attempts suicide or loses their life to suicide.

"As individuals, we need to check our attitudes about mental illness and treatment," Wittwer said. "We need to reserve judgment and instead offer support to those individuals and families who may be living with mental illness."

---

E-mail: lucy@desnews.com