SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's SafeUT program is reporting a record year in school safety, with more threat-related tips and emergency interventions than ever before. Officials say this report underscores the app's growing role as a lifeline for students, educators, and parents.
SafeUT was launched in 2016 in response to Utah's high youth suicide rate and was developed by the University of Utah. The platform, according to officials, is a confidential way to connect students, parents, guardians, and educators with licensed counselors.
January 2026 will mark 10 years since the launch of SafeUT. Officials say that since their launch, the app has been downloaded more than 329,000 times, and more than 203,000 total chats have taken place on the platform.
"SafeUT gives people a fighting chance to survive their darkest moments," Ric Cantrell, the commission chair for SafeUT, stated. "Over a thousand Utahns are alive today because of SafeUT- almost 350 in the last year alone."
In SafeUT's annual fiscal year report for 2025, they report more than 24,700 total chats that happened across the app in the previous year. 342 of those chats had to be ended with emergency interventions.
Officials say of the 342 emergency interventions that stemmed from chats in the platform, 199 were concerning self-harm, 127 were concerning harming others, and 16 mentioned both self-harm and harm to others.
Suicide and bullying were the most common tips that SafeUT received from K-12 users of the platform. 24% of the tips received concerned suicide, while 21% were concerning bullying.
In higher education, suicide and mental health were the two most common tip categories. 32% of the tips that came in from higher education tips were about suicide.
In 2020, SafeUT launched the SafeUT Frontline app to provide a safe line for those who work in health care, fire/EMS, law enforcement, corrections, and their families. Since launch, officials say the app has provided a safe space for Utah's frontline workers to receive mental health help.
"The app and the availability of professional mental health specialists 24/7 are a great benefit," Jack Tidrow, the president of the Professional Firefighters of Utah, stated. "Our members are appreciative of the safety net that SafeUT Frontline provides to them and their families when a crisis arises."
In the past year, SafeUt reports that they have responded to 333 total frontline chats. In responding, more than 11,000 back-and-forth chat messages were sent.
Healthcare workers used the app most frequently, according to the report. Officials say that 73% of all the chats came from healthcare workers over the last year. Fire and EMS workers were just 9% of the chats.
