Next week, Governor Mark Gordon will be hosting theGovernor’s Mental Health Summitin Casper. The summit is for all mental health stakeholders in the state.
Stefan Johansson, Wyoming Department of Health director, said it’s important to get a wider group of stakeholders involved in mental health reform.
“Business community, nonprofits, philanthropic, community leaders, et cetera, to get those, you know, get those issues out there and see where those problems and where those potential solutions connect to the state's role,” said Johansson.
Johansson said the state is really pulling together to address and solve mental health care in the state.
“The issues are real, the needs are clear,” said Johansson. “But it's exciting, and I'm optimistic that we have the right mechanisms and the right projects in place to really make some meaningful improvements here.”
Johansson said the pandemic really highlighted the problems that already existed and identified new ones. The hope is that the day's discussion can lead to solutions involving all stakeholders and not just leaving it up to the state to solve. The summit will be held in Casper on Tuesday, Oct. 11 and will be livestreamed. And it will be available to watch at Wyoming PBSafter the event.