Woman Facing Eviction From Student Apartment After Voicing Suicidal Tendencies

OREM, Utah – An apartment complex in Orem is evicting a woman, claiming she violated her contract by expressing suicidal thoughts to her roommates.

The COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning are an unfortunate reality for many Utahns.

“There are days I don’t want to get out of bed,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified.

Those things, on top of a battle with depression, led her to the decision to take a semester off from Utah Valley University to focus on her mental health. 

“I was having suicidal thoughts, and they used that against me,” she said. 

On Tuesday, she was given a letter from Ventana Student Housing, telling her that her apartment contract was being terminated and she needed to clean out her room by next Monday.

The reason? For vocalizing “suicidal tendencies, which has caused undue stress and alarm to your roommates and violated the lease.”

“It doesn’t seem OK to do this,” the woman said. “They took my depression and suicidal thoughts, and they used it for their advantage.” 

She added she has not been in contact with the apartment complex, the university or her roommates since she had a falling out with one of them this year.

“Like, (they) thought evicting me was going to solve the problem?” the woman said. “When I already felt like I was having a hard time wanting to be alive?”

KSL-TV did get a hold of a UVU spokesperson who said, in part:

“While this person is not a student at Utah Valley University, our hearts go out to her and those who struggle with mental health issues. We are hopeful the apartment managers at the housing complex will be able to work with her to solve her contract issue. Utah Valley University does not own student housing on or off campus.”

KSL-TV called the Ventana apartment complex a total of four times Wednesday before their office hours ended at 5 p.m. and left a few voicemails. We did not hear back from them.

In the meantime, the girl was staying with a family friend.

Suicide Prevention Resources

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or exhibiting warning signs, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Additional Crisis Hotlines

• Utah County Crisis Line: 801-226-4433
• Salt Lake County/UNI Crisis Line: 801-587-3000
• Wasatch Mental Health Crisis Line: 801-373-7393
• National Suicide Prevention Crisis Text Line: Text “HOME” to 741-741
• Trevor Project Hotline for LGBTQ teens: 1-866-488-7386
• University Of Utah Crisis Interventional Crisis Line: 801-587-300

Online resources

• NAMI Utah
• Utah Chapter-American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• Suicide Prevention Lifeline
• Safe UT Crisis Text and Tip Line

In an emergency

• Call the police
• Go to the emergency room