It all started weeks after moving to Salt Lake City last summer. I became aware that for years, Utah has superficially captured the attention nationwide for other (more cheerful) factors the state has to offer, like a devoted faith and a breathtaking place for outdoor enthusiasts. But not everyone knows that the state has been suffering in silence for a long time, allowing an invisible threat to keep taking the lives of many LGBTQ+ youth residents. This threat has become the loudest secret among residents. Keeping Utah at the top 10 rank for Suicide Rate in the United States and turning it into a dangerous place to live for queer youth in the nation (America’s Health Rankings, 2021).

For this reason, I created this section so other people in the community could find a variety of safe spaces hosted by community partners around Utah. That way, people can access services focused in the overall well-being of queer folx and their families.

My goal is to inspire other members of the community, especially parents and professors, to strengthen our youth’s sense of belonging, self esteem, and identity. At the same time I seek to encourage community members to recognize the positive effects of support systems in someone’s life.

Sense of belonging, family support, self esteem, and identity, are the most important pillars that hold the world of a teenager. But for some youth out there, these pillars seem vulnerable as if they were made out of paper. The world around them suggests that there is something wrong with who they are, how they look, or the love they may feel for someone. Utah is currently losing approximately 6% of their youth by suicide every year (USPC, 2020). This means that 6% of our children decide to take their lives at such a young age, for fear of losing these pillars from their world. This is unacceptable, my peers.

It is imperative that our community stands up with the right mindset to protect the future of many queer children living in the state. According to the Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition report (2020), suicide was the leading cause of death among youth between the ages of 10 to 17. How can we as a community let them know that there is a world out there waiting for their ideas, for their passion, and their love? Yes, love. Something everyone can enjoy no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity, a feeling that is not stopped by judgement or rejection. A feeling that goes beyond time and cultures.

Maybe love is the key within acceptance, the key that can free many youth from the invisible cage they are trapped in and what popular culture calls “the closet”. A dark place with walls made out of rejection and shame. Is this cage the “safe place” where most relatives think their children will live safely? In a caring community such as the one based in Utah, the disconnection between the family values and the suicide statistics are outstanding considering that they haven’t changed much since 2015 (Simonsen & St. Clair, 2021).

It's imperative that our community adopts practices not only at home but at school, that help our youth to “come out” safely from their painful, invisible cage. It’s imperative that parents in our community understand the importance of creating a safe environment at home, where their children can rather feel empowered to be themselves. Because being themselves, is the only person they should always aspire to be. It’s imperative that as protectors and guardians of the future generation in this state, we leave behind the myths, stigmas, and old perceptions of what being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender means. It is costing us many lives, and unnecessarily...

In other words, we are failing to protect our children from our own bigotry. We are failing our youth by the hand of our own ignorance, and the false hope that their sexual orientation will be eventually “fixed”. It’s in our own hands to guide our children with respect and acceptance, just as we deserved when we were young and vulnerable. It's our duty to promote their well-being and reduce their stress, by expressing affection and advocating for them when they need it the most. Because it is during this stage in their lives that family acceptance is vital, in order to avoid in their future; health and mental health problems, substance abuse, prejudice, discrimination, and emotional and social isolation (Ryan, 2009).

The Director of the Family Acceptance Project, Caitlin Ryan, after decades of research and community work shares that queer youth who have been highly rejected at home are 8 times more likely to attempt suicide, 6 times more likely to report high levels of depression, 3 times more likely to use illegal drugs, and 3 times at higher risk for HIV and STD’s (2009). These alarming numbers can be prevented with the collaborative work of parents, teachers, and community partners.

The ways to support many families in Utah besides having family acceptance is with community connectedness, sense of safety and safe access to LGBTQ+ medical and mental health services. Only in the past year, this has proven to reduce the suicide rate among Utah residents who slowly but surely have normalized talking about mental health support. Unfortunately, there is so much more to be done still for many families out there.

Many parents, misled by fear or a lack of resources, chose to privately force their youth to keep their truth a secret or seek ways to “cure” them. According to the National Survey on LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health 2020, by the Trevor Project, “6 out of 10 LGBTQ+ youth said that someone attempted to convince them to change their sexual orientation or gender identity”. Furthermore, 78% of youth who underwent conversion therapy reported to be under the age of 18 and 28% of that youth attempted suicide at some point.

The future of our state is in a state of emergency. The lack of empathy is taking away the best of our families and the best of us. The impairment to see how wonderful the lives of our queer youth can be is detrimental to our success as a community. Being queer does not mean to be sick, to be deficient, or to be a monster or a threat. Being queer means to be human too, in one of the multiple beautiful shades that humanity has in it. Being queer is not a synonymous of weakness, nor an indication that we need to “be cured” or “saved”.

It's imperative, my peers, that we work together to build a better Utah for our queer youth. Because they deserve it, and we deserve it. I believe we are capable of living in a state that protects them rather than forcing them into their dark cages where they are judged like animals instead of children. It's imperative that we defend their future from our past mistakes. We have no time to lose, and so many lives to save.​

In the past three years Lucas Horns have worked tirelessly to bring together the community he loves with the help of an army of rainbow flags. Located in the beehive’s capital, Salt Lake City, the Project Rainbow was founded by Horns in 2018 with one goal in mind claiming that he wanted to “create opportunities where people could feel safe and supported”. It all started as a silly idea after a Pride Week parade years ago, where Horns wondered how cool it would be to promote LGBTQ+ visibility in Utah with the help of pride flags, like the Boy Scouts do for Independence Day. His idea was to resemble the support people show with the placement of American flags in their homes or stores during the 4th of July, but with pride flags instead. Why? Because in that moment he realized that knowing which places supported queer people, could be a game changer for those who can’t speak up, yet. According to Horns, the empowerment that these flags bring to queer youth (and people in general) in town is necessary, claiming that “otherwise it can be very hard to find a support system [near by]”.

The School of Social Work in the University at Buffalo (2019), defines a support system as “a network of people - friends, family, and peers - that one can turn to for emotional and practical support”. Utah has a strong collective culture centered in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known locally by the acronym “LDS” or as “Mormons” for most people outside Utah. Unfortunately, that closeness can become a “doubled sided sword”. According to Horns, community involvement in the state is one of the greatest and yet, difficult qualities the community needs to work with. The fear of a “subtle exile” as Horns call it, is a major factor to avoid admitting being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. For this reason, The Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition created a “first-of-its-kind” report to reduce suicide among Utah’s LGBTQ+ community (Stevens, 2020). The report qualifies “emotional and social isolation” as one of the four principal Risk Factors, followed by “prejudice and discrimination”, “substance abuse” and “mental health issues'' (USPC, 2020, p. 8).

For decades, Utah has superficially captured the attention nationwide for other (more cheerful) factors the state has to offer, like a devoted faith and a breathtaking place for outdoor enthusiasts. But it is until you meet with locals or community leaders like Horns, that you can learn how the state has been suffering in silence for a long time, allowing an invisible threat to keep taking the lives of many LGBTQ+ youth residents. This threat has become the loudest secret among residents. Keeping Utah at the top 10 rank for Suicide Rate in the United States and turning it into a dangerous place to live for queer youth in the nation (America’s Health Rankings, 2021).

To say that the Rainbow Project has done an impressive job at finding ways to unite the community, would be an understatement. An example of this can be seen in the exponential growth for pride flags demanded every year by Utah residents. When interviewed, Horns admitted that the first year he felt a bit anxious to learn the outcome for his initiative. Together with the help of only a handful of friends, the first year was (from his perspective -almost surprisingly) a complete success offering a total of 500 flags. He later claimed “this year [during the pride month] the number skyrocketed from the original 500 to 4.5K flags placed in urban and rural areas of the state” with a great deal of pride in his smile and hopeful green eyes.

In only three years the Rainbow Project’s mission became a palpable reality in the state and a great way to establish where “the allies are''. According to Horns, something that owners of these flags have in common is the experience of opening their front door to meet a (sometimes in a rush) very grateful teen, or adult. Phrases like “this means so much to me”, “I was walking by and I just wanted to say, thank you!” or “I wish I could tell my family that I am gay, but I am terrified to do so” are abundant among flag owners, claimed Horns with a tender voice while looking at the window. It was there when I could listen through his silence how much pain he witnessed in the past. My suspicion was confirmed when he admitted that “even though he was very lucky to be born in an understanding and loving family, having these reminders around town could have made things so much easier”. Moreover, the organization is not limited to placing flags in front yards or stores. They also organize events that promote LGBTQ+ visibility and unity within Salt Lake County. And with the money raised, they offer grants (ranging from $100 to $7000) to anyone who has an initiative that aligns with their mission.

Over the past decade Utah slowly but surely started a drastic (and for some people, painful) metamorphosis to provide better resources like accessible mental health programs that can be in person or over tele-health. These programs are dedicated to work with queer youth and their relatives in hopes to improve the quality of life for many young residents that suffer in silence. This part of the population [children and teens] tend to be overshadowed by the belief that every family seeks to support, guide, and empower their youth. But not all youth feel safe to share openly about their gender identity or sexual orientation. The fear of being judged can be paralyzing. Even more so, considering it from the perspective of a twelve-year-old who thinks that life may never be the same after that talk. Not surprisingly, according to a new research by the Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition (2020), “suicide was the leading cause of death for Utah youth ages 10-17.

People assume that the richness of a teens’ inner world can only be endorsed by colorful games that have nothing to do with “serious matters”. But knowing at that age that your community will never forgive you because you could not resist the “temptations” found out there can be enough to develop a mental health issue (like depression) that can silently eat away your bright future. According to this same report by USPC, “youth account for approximately 6% of all suicide deaths in the state of Utah”. This means that Utah deals with the loss of 11,983 lives approximately every year, to put that in context, the total population of Salt Lake City (Utah’s capital) had a total population of 199,723 in 2020 according to the last census (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2020). For this reason, advances like the declaration of June as the “Pride month'' in Utah by the state governor, Spencer J. Cox, marks the beginning of a new era of acceptance rather than tolerance in the state (Miller, 2021).

America’s Health Rankings. (2021). Explore Suicide in Utah | 2020 Annual Report. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Suicide/state/UT

Fox 13 News Utah. (2021, June 1). Utah’s governor issues a proclamation celebrating LGBTQ Pride [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jrf3FzFGmM

Miller, S. (2021, June 1). June is officially LGBTQ+ Pride month in Utah. KSLNewsRadio. https://kslnewsradio.com/1949569/pride-month-in-utah/

School of Social Work. (2019, October 7). Developing Your Support System. University at Buffalo. http://socialwork.buffalo.edu/resources/self-care-starter-kit/additional-self-care-resources/developing-your-support-system.html

Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition. (2020). Utah LGBTQ+ Suicide Prevention Plan 2020 - 2023. https://liveonutah.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/LGBTQ_Strategic_Plan-6.pdf

Ryan, C. (2009). Helping Families Support Their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Children. Washington, DC: National Center for Cultural Competence, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development.