SALT LAKE CITY — With September being National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, it's a time dedicated to sharing resources and being there for one another, especially through struggles.
FanX in Salt Lake City has been around for the last 13 years and brings people from across the country together in the name of pop culture. But the three-day event also supports mental health resources and allows those who attend to be themselves.
"Showing support, just letting them know that they aren't alone going through the hard times," Dan Farr, the producer of FanX, said. "In 2020 we lost two people to mental health-related issues so it's something that's really important to us."
The convention has partnered with Nerd HQ, a nonprofit dedicated to getting people the resources they need for free. Actor Zachary Levi transformed Nerd HQ into a 501c-3 after his own struggles with mental health. Through that journey, he found that many people cannot afford the resources that they need to flourish.
"I think it's one of the most important things we can do is heal people's hearts and minds," Levi said.
Nerd HQ partners with Timely Care, which provides therapy to people via telehealth across the country.
For some fans, it's important to come together and take a break from the "busyness" of life. Michael Clayton comes to Fan X every year all the way from St. George.
“Coming up here, you get to be with people that are into the same things that you are," Clayton said.
Back at home, out of their cosplay capes, they wear a different kind of cape in the form of a headset and phone. As emergency medical dispatchers, they're the ones who help people during the worst days.
"So every year I come up to this for four days in a row with nothing else going on and just hanging out with people," Clayton said. "No one is going to judge you in a place like this.”