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Utah's Foremost Platform for Undergraduate Research Presentation
2021 Abstracts

Salty Digs

Presenter: Sandra Call, College of Engineering, Applied Science and Technology, Interior Design
Authors: Sandra Call
Faculty Advisor: Kristen Arnold, Weber State University, Interior Design
Institution: Weber State University

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ, 2019), youth suicide rates increased by 56% from 2007 to 2017 and 4 out of 5 of the teens gave clear warning signs before attempting suicide (JasonFoundation.com, 2019). There is not a walk-in facility that advertises free of charge help for those dealing with suicidal friends or family members, where they can get help or receive information on how to help. EducationData.org (EducationData, 2020) reports that 32% of high school students are in need of tutoring. That is approximately 1,500 students in South Davis County who need tutoring each day and there is not a free tutoring center close by to assist with that. Research shows when teens do get the help they need, more of them succeed (EducationData, 2020). The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH, 2019) stated that in Utah 2,435 teens are without a home and without a family member with them, they are all alone. There is not a facility within southern Davis County to assist with the needs of the growing up generation who will one day be our leaders. According to the research, a facility of this type needs to be visible, in close proximity to those who need it, and comforting and calming upon walking in (DoSomething.org, 2020). https://www.wsj.com/articles/youth-suicide-rate-rises-56-in-decade-cdc-says-11571284861 http://prp.jasonfoundation.com/facts/youth-suicide-statistics/ https://www.usich.gov/tools-for-action/map/#fn[]=3800&fn[]=10700&fn[]=18900&fn[]=34200&fn[]=40100&year=2018&ths=true https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-high-school-dropout-rates#:~:text=Every%20year%2C%20over%201.2%20million,from%20high%20school%20on%20time. https://educationdata.org/high-school-dropout-rate/