After Robin Williams died earlier this month, Orem City saw an opportunity to honor his life and work while also telling people that he didn’t have to die.

“We wanted to use this as a real opportunity to have a discussion, open up a dialogue about resources available in Utah County” for people who struggle with mental health issues and suicidal thoughts, said Orem spokesman Steven Downs.

So on Saturday, Aug. 30, Orem will host a free showing of Williams’s movie “Hook” at the Brent Brown Ballpark at Utah Valley University, starting at 7:30 p.m. Before the movie starts, representatives from Wasatch Mental Health, a community mental health center, and Hope4Utah, a youth suicide prevention group, will explain their cause and the suicide prevention resources available in the community, Downs said. They’ll have a booth with information about where to get help. And people will be able to donate money to the two organizations and also have a chance to win blenders donated by Blendtec for the cause.

Downs said the city has gotten a lot of positive feedback on Facebook leading up to the event, and posts asking for votes on which movie to show and on the event itself have been among the most popular for the city.

The suicide of someone who appeared to be on top of the world can shake people up and make them more aware of suicide, Downs said. Orem wanted to let people know how to get help for themselves or for people they know who might be suicidal.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that one of the factors in putting a person at risk for suicide is exposure to the suicidal behavior of others. Other factors include family history of suicide; stressful life event or loss; history of depression or mental illness, alcohol or drug abuse and previous suicide attempts; and easy access to lethal methods. A U.S. Surgeon General report in 2012 listed “unsafe media portrayals of suicide” as a risk factor.

In 2011 (the latest numbers available from the CDC) 39,518 people in the U.S. died from suicide — making it the 10th leading cause of death. The same year, 487,700 people got medical treatment for self-inflicted injuries, the CDC reported.

[pullquote]Online suicide prevention resources:

Downs said the city wants the movie night to be an event where people will enjoy themselves, but also walk away knowing that Williams’s life didn’t have to end the way it did.

“It’s not meant to be a somber, heavy event,” but the city wants people to leave knowing where they can get help, he said.

In fact, the CDC reports that easy access to “support for help seeking” is a suicide prevention factor, as are “cultural beliefs that discourage suicide and support instincts for self-preservation, including seeking help, and family and community support,” among others.

There’s a national suicide prevention hotline that’s open all day, every day at (800) 273-8255. The number connects people with trained counselors in their area.