At Bio-One Utah we are often tasked with the unfortunate reality of cleaning up biohazards and blood left behind from suicides. These cleanups are always difficult and tragic. We have seen an uptick in youth suicide cleanups in 2017 at Bio-One Utah. This has simply got to stop. We are here for families during their time of need, but something simply needs to be done to help prevent these youth suicides.
Thankfully Utah Governor, Gary Herbert, has assembled a task force of local prominent Doctors, Businesses, Govt Agencies, and Clergy to investigate this wave of youth suicides we are experiencing in Utah. I hope a solution can be assessed quickly and that help is on the way to stem these unfortunate deaths. We at Bio-One Utah stand with Governor Herbert and are ready to do whatever we can to prevent more youth suicides.
One strong piece of advice we can’t emphasize enough to parents is to keep all firearms locked in a safe or outfitted with trigger locks. Hunting and gun sports are part of our culture in Utah and that is fine. There can be great enjoyment and great outdoor experiences via shooting hobbies. However, we strongly encourage parents to keep guns locked up and out of reach from children until it is time to use them for hobby or sport. Unfortunately, we have seen too many tragedies involving youth suicide and guns. This won’t prevent every youth suicide, but in many cases, it will buy much needed time for a troubled youth to get help.
Please take some time to visit https://utahsuicideprevention.org/ to learn more about helping prevent suicide. Together, as a community, we can reverse these horrible trends of youth suicide once-and-for all.
