Mental health and suicide are prevalent problems in our state, and historically underrepresented communities are no exception. In fact, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), as well as LGBTQ+ communities may face additional challenges in accessing mental health resources. There are several organizations within Utah that are dedicated to the safety, health, and mental wellness of these communities. Today, we will highlight three such organizations that provide community-specific physical and mental health services in our state.


The Black Clinicians

The Black Clinicians is a collective of Black medical and mental health clinicians who service the needs of the Black community in Utah and who are committed to creating healing spaces for all.

Melanie D. Davis, a licensed mental health counselor, is one of the founders of the collective and has spoken publicly about the importance of providing specialized care for people of color in Utah.

“I just see it as really critical that people of color have access to therapists of color,” she told KUTV News in June.

It is crucial to have a therapist or counselor that can relate to the lived experiences from the Black perspective.

“Especially as it pertains to specific types racial trauma that occurs when someone has experienced racism,” she said.

The Black Clinicians focus on access, empowerment, and community for the people that they serve. They were founded in 2018 and are made up of several practicing medical health professionals from around the state. While their work is not primarily focused on suicide prevention, prevention efforts are naturally embedded in their mission of wellness and mental health.

They regularly organize events for the Black community in Utah focused on mental health and healing. They have also participated heavily in events discussing anti-racism topics, including equality and equity, microaggressions, and diversity in education. They hope to host trainings for the Black community using the evidence-based “Question, Persuade, Refer” (QPR) model, which teaches how to recognize signs of suicide risk in loved ones and start needed conversations for change.

“The Intermountain west continues to see high numbers of suicide attempts and completions, especially when compared to other states,” says Dr. Kimberly Applewhite, a QPR-trained licensed clinical psychologist and another of the founding clinicians of the collective. “As we learn more about risk factors, it is vital to focus on providing mental health resources to communities of color, who are less likely to utilize therapy and more likely to have increased severity of symptoms when they do report for treatment.”

If you are interested in getting involved with the Black Clinicians or would like to learn more about how to access the services that they provide, you can find them on Facebook.


Latino Behavioral Health Services

Latino Behavioral Health Services (LBHS) is a nonprofit, grassroots organization created to minimize the disparities in access to mental health services among the under-served Latino population of Utah. As a peer run organization, Latino Behavioral Health Services exists to enhance the mental health awareness and well-being of people with mental illness, their care-givers and loved ones through support, education, empowerment, facilitation of resources and services with competent responsiveness to cultural, socio-economic and language characteristics.

LBHS started in 2011 by community residents brought together by a passion to serve their community. It was officially founded in 2013 and received nonprofit status in 2015. They work with several partners across the state, many of which are members of the Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition, such as NAMI UT and the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. They currently serve over 600 Latinos annually.

LBHS focuses heavily on awareness, empowerment and recovery in the work that they do. They are a peer-run organization with a board and resident partners all with lived experiences similar to the community they aim to serve. They exist to support the mental health and well-being of people with mental illness and substance use disorders and they work closely with care-givers and loved ones of clients. Their success requires a culture of collaboration, excellence, leadership and respect, which they consistently find with peers on every level of the LBHS structure.

LBHS has dozens of services available to their communities, including trainings and presentations about suicide prevention. These trainings and presentations are free or low-cost, can be offered in either English or Spanish, and can be scheduled online.

Topics of trainings and presentations include:

• Presentations about mental/emotional conditions and substance use disorders, what it is like to live with a mental/emotional condition or substance use disorder and the experiences of family members of those with a mental/emotional condition or substance use disorder.
• Presentations about resources for Latinos with mental/emotional conditions or substance use disorders and their family members.
• QPR Trainings (Question, Persuade, Refer)
• MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) Training

If you want to learn more about the work that LBHS does and how to get involved, visit their website.


LGBTQ Affirmative Therapist Guild

The LBGTQ-Affirmative Therapist Guild of Utah is a group of mental health professionals that provides resources and support to LGBTQ+ community members and their families in the state of Utah. Made up of 250 members, including 159 social workers, 35 psychologists, and 36 mental health therapists, the Guild meets monthly for consultation and education regarding mental health concerns of sexual and gender diverse communities.

The Guild believes that all individuals and families deserve mental health services that affirm sexual and gender diversity. To this end, they provide innovative and affirmative training to mental health professionals and trainees grounded in values of cultural humility, social advocacy, collaboration, and inclusivity. They believe this work honors and celebrates the lived experiences of sexual and gender diverse individuals, families, and communities while promoting justice and dignity.

According to Equality Utah, LGBTQ+ youth are particularly vulnerable to suicide ideation. The statistics are troubling. Compared to heterosexual youth, LGBTQ+ youth are 3 times more likely to seriously contemplate suicide and are almost 5 times as likely to have attempted suicide. In a national study, 40% of transgender adults reported having attempted suicide (most before the age of 25). Mental health disparities carry over into adulthood for LGBTQ+ individuals - LGB adults are more than twice as likely and transgender adults are nearly 4 times as likely to experience a mental health condition compared to heterosexual adults (NAMI, 2020).

In response to the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ population in our state, the Guild provides a list of psychotherapists and mental health professionals that are LGBTQ+ affirming and are practiced in working specifically with members of this community. These professionals can help with the variety of mental health struggles that their clients may face, with suicide prevention at the top of every affirmative therapist’s list.

The Guild coordinates outreach, membership, networking, and continuing education that contribute to suicide prevention and mental health in the LGBTQ+ community. They also organize political action campaigns and provide community trainings, so that all members of the community can be a part of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community in Utah.

To learn more about the Guild visit their website.

UTA’s Participation in Suicide Prevention
UTA is proud to have partnered with the Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition. We are first and foremost a transit provider, and we understand that this role is about more than just getting people from place to place. We also have a social responsibility to the community that we serve.

We care about you, and we want our work to reflect that. September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and we are honoring this month with a blog series dedicated to the suicide prevention efforts that are underway across our state. Tune in next week for information about local groups that are working within our state towards suicide prevention.