By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
Advocates and educators took over Utah State University Eastern’s campus starting Wednesday, March 19, for the 2025 Elevating Hope Summit. Featuring three days of educational opportunities, the over 265 patrons left prepared to face essential issues such as mental health and substance use disorder.
Hosted yearly by Utah State University HEART extension, Four Corners Community Behavioral Health, the Southeast Utah Health Department, and 4-H, the summit aims to connect stakeholders with community-based resources for mental health. Featuring speakers from statewide enterprises and local causes, the event puts the spotlight on prevention.
“It’s an amazing turnout to have so many people here from across the state of Utah, but also our local community. It shows that hope and collaboration is the catalyst for change,” said Dr. Ashley Yaugher, one of the event’s organizers. “This is a two-day summit, but we also had a presummit for law enforcement, so the reach is much broader than just the room and the people in the room, which we have over 200 people here.”
Organizations such as Castleview Hospital, USARA, Nat-Su Healthcare and the Association for Utah Community Health lined the halls of the Jennifer Leavitt student center between sessions, giving those in attendance a chance to connect with resources both in Castle Country and statewide.
“It really was an incredible day in that all of my favorite people from across the state who work in this prevention field, especially with suicide prevention and substance use disorder, to have them all housed Under one roof,” expressed Suicide Prevention Specialist Amanda McIntosh.
Covering topics like lethal means restriction, person first language and using your voice as an advocate, the summit served to uplift and inform the public through informative discussion-based presentations. “It is hopeful to see that throughout the conference and the different subject matters that we touched on, everybody had insight and a narrative that they were participating in,” shared McIntosh. “They were also absorbing as much information as they could to take it back to their community members that couldn’t attend today and share the knowledge with them.”
The event also gave back to the community, with local businesses partnering with the summit to give attendees a discount at local restaurants bolstering the local economy. Thanks to donations from participants, over 50 scholarships to attend the conference were awarded.