The Utah Strong Recovery Project is a FEMA-funded state program to help Utahns impacted by the stressors of the Covid19 pandemic. It provides free and confidential counseling by FEMA-trained counselors to anyone in Utah in the form of emotional support, coping and problem-solving strategies, mental health education, and community referrals. Spanish-speaking counselors are available and translation for other languages is offered.
Most of us have never experienced a pandemic, or such a shift in our everyday way of life. It is normal to feel stress at a time when you may be experiencing isolation, economic hardship, health worries, or the loss of a loved one. The Utah Strong Recovery Project wants to talk through those feelings and provide you with professionally-led guidance on how you can cope with the changes in your world in a healthy, mentally strong way.
Call or text the free and confidential Utah Strong Recovery Project Helpline to talk with a counselor seven days a week 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 385-386-2289. Or, email your first name and phone number to UtahStrong@utah.gov.
In addition to the Helpline, every county in Utah has a team of counselors available for free and confidential individual and family online counseling. Teams also provide outreach to community organizations in the form of online education classes and support groups. Call and request help from The Utah Strong Recovery Team in your county through the Utah Strong Helpline.
For after- hours service, please contact the Utah statewide Crisis Line at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the SAMHSA Distress Hotline at 1-800-985-5990.
The only thing we have to fear is ... fear itself.
I hate that a worldwide pandemic is what it took for everyone to be concerned about mental helth. Utah's collective culture has ignored people with mental illness far too long. Hopefully a positive outcome of Covid will be more awareness of mental helth, the reduction of stigma, better and more accessible treatment, and more empathy shown to those who struggle and have struggled long before the added pressure of this pandemic. I hope this awareness of mental helth will flourish and continue to do so when we regain some normalcy.