MENTAL HEALTH
Rally organizers hope to raise awareness that mental illness is treatable
SALT LAKE CITY — A rally to raise awareness about mental illness and addiction recovery takes place in the Capitol Rotunda on Thursday. And it’s not new, this will be the 15th year that Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Utah hold this event.
Community impact director Evan Done hopes that lawmakers will get a sense for the number of people impacted by mental illness in Utah.
“This rally for recovery really gives us a chance to highlight all of the people in our state that are in recovery from mental health and substance use disorders,” he said. “There’s thousands of us.”
Many of the planned activities will address the victories of people recovering from substance abuse disorders as well as what is still needed from lawmakers.
“We’ll have speakers, people in recovery, leaders in the community, and elected officials, all kind of addressing what’s going on with substance use and mental health legislation on the hill this year” Done said.
Done believes that mental illness, suicide, substance use disorders, and overdose are Utah’s greatest public health crises.
“We’re a constituency of consequence. They should be listening to people like us about issues that impact our lives.”
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), more than 500,000 adults in Utah have a mental health condition. NAMI also reports that of the nearly 200,000 Utah adults that did not receive medical help for a mental illness condition, almost half didn’t get that help because of the cost.
Finally, NAMI reports there are nearly three million people in Utah who live in communities that lack the appropriate number of mental health professionals.
The rally includes a “Walk to Remember” and begins at 4 p.m.
Resources:
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, you can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Utah Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255, which is answered 24/7/365 by crisis counselors at Huntsman Mental Health Institute.
Related reading
Today’s Top Stories
Multiple Utah schools received fake reports of school shooting, officials say
Additional sex charges filed against Utah businessman; more victims possible
Three people killed in two-vehicle crash on US-89 in Logan Canyon
Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski collision trial continues with defense
Alpine School District exploring potential closure of 5 elementary schools
Elk herd returns to SLC golf course after multiple relocation attempts
Prison sentence reduced for ‘Real Housewives of SLC’ star Jen Shah
Provo Canyon closing intermittently to mitigate rock slides
Seven Canyons Fountain will be ‘reimagined’ into dry art feature
U.S. Department of Labor says Sodalicious violated child labor laws
