SALT LAKE CITY — Suicide is the ninth leading cause of death in Utah, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It's something that has impacted Sean Patrick McPeak's life firsthand.
"I lost my fiancée in 2019," he said. "It's tough, man. She was the best and she struggled."
McPeak is a local licensed therapist, running his own practice called Kintu Spirit Works. He says he has 85 active patients right now.
In his 13 years as a therapist, he has also lost patients to suicide.
For the past two and a half years, shortly before his fiancée took her own life, McPeak has had two signs out in his front yard.
One of those signs reads: "You Matter," and the other: "Don't Give Up."
"It's the same sign with different sides, and so depending on which way you're going by," said McPeak. "I thought both messages are important, right?"
Whether you drive or walk by his home in the Liberty Wells neighborhood, both signs are on full display.
"People struggle, I say all the time, like, everybody suffers, and no one's got to do it alone," said McPeak.
He says the reception from the signs in his front yard has been pretty positive.
"A third of the people that walk by stop and comment something, 'Love your signs,'" said McPeak.
So much so, he's given eight signs to people who live nearby.
McPeak hopes bring awareness to suicide and to help prevent it in the process.
"If we can change that anywhere, one person in one relationship in one neighborhood, worth it," he said.
FOX 13 News asked McPeak if he feels his fiancée is proud that he's kept this going, nearly three years after she passed away.
"I'd like to think so, right?" he said. "Yeah, she would be. She absolutely would be."
Anyone interested in getting a sign can do so online here.
For those struggling with thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can now be reached by simply dialing 988 any time for free support. Resources are also available online at utahsuicideprevention.org.
