A new walk-in center will open in Utah for teenagers and kids as young as 5 years old who are experiencing a mental health crisis — a group that has consistently faced among the highest suicide rates in the nation.
“It’s a real epidemic here,” said Dave Eldredge, a licensed clinical social worker and executive director of the Huntsman Mental Health Institute. “We have kids who are really struggling.”
The hope is that the new center run out of the institute at the University of Utah will serve as a bridge for the youngest in the state who need immediate help, but whose parents often don’t have a clear place to turn…