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Tribune Editorial: Utah can’t go cheap on mental health services

Utah’s elected leaders have held self-congratulatory press conferences in ornate rooms, appointed serious-minded task forces, rolled out a genuinely inventive smartphone app, furrowed their collective brows and felt our pain.

The one thing they refuse to do in dealing with the state’s very real, and growing, mental health crisis is put up the necessary amounts of money to really help people in great need.

A recent report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor General lays out how the demand for mental health services in Utah are far outstripping the supply, particularly the supply of trained counselors and therapists who do everything from respond to calls for help via what are supposed to be 24/7 hotlines and messages sent via the state’s SafeUT smartphone app to triage and treat those seeking help in hospitals and mental health centers.