By Courtney Tanner | The Salt Lake Tribune | Photo by Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune

A new walk-in center will open next week 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.

Emergency rooms, Eldredge said, are typically overrun and are not the best option for behavioral care. In fact, they can make the situation worse for a patient in crisis whose nervous system is already on overdrive.

Waiting months for an appointment with a family doctor also doesn’t work for a child who has a short window for intervention. And schools often offer limited services.

To address those gaps to crucial care, the Youth Crisis Care program will launch next Monday, July 28, at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute at 501 S. Chipeta Way.

Read more at SLTrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.

For those struggling with thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by dialing 988 any time for support.  Resources are also available at utahsuicideprevention.org.