Salt Lake County proclaimed September as Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month on Tuesday, Sept. 8. The declaration caps an eight-year campaign by Ray Lancaster, a county employee who lost her son in 2017.

Lancaster, a tax lien coordinator with nearly 35 years at the county, began pushing for the recognition after her son appeared to take his own life on Jan. 1, 2017. He had struggled with depression and alcoholism for years and left behind two young children.

"I've been on a mission for eight years," Lancaster told the Deseret News, describing years of dead ends before finding an ally in Salt Lake County Treasurer Sheila Srivastava.

Lancaster connected with Srivastava last year while handing out awareness bracelets at the county building. Srivastava, elected treasurer in 2024, understood personally. Her son was 15 when he witnessed his father suffer a fatal heart attack. Three years later, the teen told his therapist he had a plan to take his own life. Srivastava checked him into an institution for 16 days.

A decade later, he is finishing a Ph.D. in philosophy.

Srivastava brought the idea to Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and the Salt Lake County Council. Wilson, the council and other elected officials signed the proclamation. It encourages residents to learn warning signs and share the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Wilson grew emotional during the Sept. 8 council meeting while reading the obituary of Colin Hilton, longtime president and CEO of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation. Hilton died Aug. 21 at age 58. His family wrote in his obituary that he had been fighting to find a way back to his loving family and life.

The proclamation also points residents to the Out of the Darkness Community Walk, organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). The walk is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 13, at 9 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in West Jordan. Registration is available at afspwalks.donordrive.com/SLC.

Lancaster wears a tattoo on her wrist with a lotus flower, a semicolon, a quill and her son's initial. She said the proclamation is a first step but wants the effort to continue.

Additional crisis resources include the Huntsman Mental Health Institute Crisis Line at 801-587-3000, the SafeUT Crisis Line at 833-372-3388 and the Trevor Project Hotline for LGBTQ teens at 1-866-488-7386.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.