Utah’s youth suicide rate has nearly tripled since 2007 and is now the leading cause of death among 10 to 17-year-olds.
The suicide rate in Utah has been historically higher than that of the U.S., according to data from the Public Health Indicator Based Information System. suicide rate for people ages 10 and up was 14.9 per 100,000 population during that same period. Just as shocking is Utah’s own suicide rate: 23.9 suicides per 100,000 population for people ages 10 and up in 2013. The rate of suicide attempts is four times greater for LGBT youth than straight youth, according to the Trevor Project, a leading national organization providing crisis prevention to LGBT youth. “I don’t want to have to visit another friend in the hospital.” I hope that never happens again,” said BYU civil engineering major Dillon Harker, who identifies as gay. “I have gone to the hospital in the past year two different times to visit LGBT BYU students who had attempted suicide. However, another common story for LGBT individuals and their friends is the alternate ending to McGrath’s story: crippling depression and suicide. “It’s a pretty common story for us in the club.” “USGA saved my life,” said McGrath, who identifies as bisexual. (Jessica Olsen)īYU senior Brenna McGrath was in the process of slowly overdosing herself with medication when her class held a panel for BYU’s unofficial LGBT club, Understanding Same-Gender Attraction. And there’s nothing alternative about that.Jacob Dunford, who works for Provo’s first LGBT resource center Encircle, looks out the Encircle home window at the Provo City Center Temple. It was the simple act of celebrating love – of all kinds. He adds that he plans to adopt children someday and bring them to the celebration.Īnd if there was anything that united the community of people who attended the festival, it wasn’t a single lifestyle, political message, or sexual orientation. “It’s great to come and feel like you’re part of something bigger,” he said. Garin Lee, a 22-year-old Salt Lake City resident, has been coming to the pride festival since he was 17, before he was even “out” to his family and friends. It’s an outpouring of love that was much-needed for many in a state dominated by conservative politics and culture. Dozens marched with T-shirts that read “I’m straight and I support equal rights.” Young adults from high schools and colleges all around the state came in their school colors. Families of all stripes marched with their children. It was the sheer number of average citizens marching in unremarkable attire, holding signs or standing on floats, spreading a message of tolerance. A woman marched as a giant banana while a man dressed in a (frankly, terrifying) ape costume rode a bicycle and held a sign advocating a local politician.īut the most striking as pect of this year’s parade wasn’t the spectacle, although there was no shortage of wigs, glitter, and “Born This Way” renditions. A staggering number of gay nightclubs decked out their floats with preternaturally attractive, half-nude 20-somethings. One particularly ardent parade-goer brought his neon-blue poodle to march with him. Everyone from drag queens to Speedo-clad dancers to the Utah Gay Fathers Association were represented, along with many local politicians and businesses who turned up to show their support for Utah’s queer community. Over a hundred different groups marched in this year’s parade, making it just as big as the Days of ‘47 Parade (and at least twice as interesting). The climactic event – the Pride Parade on Sunday, June 7th – boasted Roseanne Barr as the Grand Marshal, and managed to be so difficult to ignore that it earned small write-ups in both KSL and The Deseret News The 2011 festival spanned three days and included live music, dozens of booths and vendors, and huge parties all over the city. What started as a small gathering in the ‘80s has grown exponentially in recent years. Michael Sanders, owner of Now & Again, and Alex Woodruff from the Urban Lounge “The gay lifestyle.” It’s a popular catchphrase that has been appearing in conservative discourse for years, but is there anything really “alternative” about being gay? If the tens of thousands of people who converged on Salt Lake City for the Utah Pride Festival the first weekend in June were any indication, the LGBT community here is anything but homogeneous. By Kylee Hill photos by Adam Vicinus and Mark Salgado