mental health

Sheridan County Prevention is in the process or working towards applying for a grant next year from a national organization that would help with their suicide and substance abuse prevention efforts and that would also increase community involvement in them. The grant also requires that a more comprehensive effort be taken to focus on the general health and well being of the community, an initiative that's to be called "Healthy Sheridan County."

Wyoming leads the nation for suicide deaths per capita. A bill hopes to address that fact and is slowly moving through the legislature. It would permanently establish the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line in Wyoming, establish quality standards and potentially provide some kind of funding.

Mountain West states are reporting shortages of mental health care professionals like psychiatrists and counselors as demand for services is on the rise.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline bill went through several big changes during committee hearings before eventually passing the House floor. However, the trust that funds the bill lost all dollars allocated to it.The 988 hotline offers 24/7 call, text and chat access to trained Wyoming based crisis counselors.

According to research, trans youth are at a much higher risk for depression and suicide than their cisgender peers. It's been found that risk is higher in communities where trans youth are not accepted.

Gov. Mark Gordon started his State of the State Wednesday, Jan. 11, by honoring a Carbon County EMT who died while responding to an accident right before Christmas. Gordon thanked all of the state’s first responders, including healthcare providers, in the state.

The committee was launched in 2018 to help address these issues in the county, but was disbanded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be revived in January with city, county, educational, prevention, and nonprofit organizations having a presence in addition to the public, which will have a larger role. This comes as Campbell County has set a record for suicides in a single year in 2022.

A $5.9 million grant from the state will help establish an Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, Healing (EmPATH) and a Crisis Stabilization Unit for Sheridan County and the surrounding area. Currently, there are no emergency facilities to deal with those in a mental health crisis, who are sometimes transferred long distances for treatment.

Colorado and Idaho are joining a handful of other states in opting out of a long-running CDC survey that tracks teenagers' mental health.

The Natrona Collective Health Trust in collaboration with the Wyoming Community Foundation has allocated over $2 million to improve the health and well-being of the county. $350,000 is being allocated over several years to organizations and nonprofits to help alleviate effects of COVID-19, such as suicide prevention and vaccine education and distribution efforts.