This week, one of Utah County’s top elected officials shared with the public that he was gay.

Utah County Commissioner Nathan Ivie spoke with the Daily Herald about his experiences and decision to share this part of his personal life. Ivie, a Republican and one of the only, if not only, current publicly gay GOP officials in Utah, is among 700-plus openly LGBTQ elected officials in the U.S. His announcement Wednesday reached and impacted far more than Utah County — it was shared and discussed across Utah, Idaho, Texas and Washington, D.C. and multiple universities.

According to an interview, coming out in such a public way was a combination of Ivie’s accepting that he is gay, with a responsibility he feels as a community leader to make sure he’s lifting up the conversation about those who may not conform to typical societal standards. He wants other young adults and adults to know that things will be OK.

“Obviously we have a problem in our community, especially in the LGBT community, of suicide. As someone who’s been there and pulled the trigger once: don’t,” Ivie said, with tears streaming down his face.

While it’s not uncommon in our community for some to still spew hate or suggest discussion of LGBTQ issues is not appropriate or needed, there are many youth and adults that face discrimination, feelings of loneliness and suicidal thoughts.

These issues above are just a few reasons why we believe it is in fact very important to continue open discussion about consideration, and support for our fellow siblings, children, fathers, mothers, neighbors who identify as LGBTQ.

Sadly, Ivie is not alone in having grappled with thoughts of suicide.

According to the state, suicide is a major preventable public health problem in Utah and the eighth leading cause of death from 2010-15. Earlier data suggested one in 15 adults in Utah have reported having serious thoughts of suicide.

Gay and transgender youth that are highly rejected by family are eight times likely to attempt suicide.

We need to see a reduction of suicide deaths, especially among our LGBTQ community. This requires concerted efforts from all of us, and larger coordination from groups like the Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition.

LGBTQ youth and adults need sources of supportive relationships; more accessible health care providers and access to mental health services; safe working and living environments; and community support of successful endeavors like the Trevor Project or Encircle.

Today, we have one more public example in Ivie of resiliency; there’s a place for everyone in our community — especially those that don’t conform to societal standards.

If you need help and live in Utah, call the 24/7 state CrisisLine at (801) 587-3000.