mental health

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.

The Wyoming Department of Health is in the progress of reorienting its priority populations in the mental health sector. The department director Stefan Johansson said this reform was needed as the financial support for behavioral health continues to grow. Wyoming Public Radio’s Kamila Kudelska asked Johansson how the state decided reforming mental health was needed.

Next week, Governor Mark Gordon will be hosting the Governor’s Mental Health Summit in 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.

Nearly $1 billion in new federal grants is aimed at helping high-need schools support students and their mental health. The grant money can be spent on things like telehealth services, ongoing teacher education, community engagement, supporting culturally-affirming practices and bullying prevention.

Around 8,800 students are enrolled this school year at the district's 24 traditional and virtual schools. School officials say that the the demand for mental health services is increasing about 10 percent each year, with an additional 10 percent of students at each school seeking them out. Efforts to improve the mental health of students has led to a decline in the district's suicide rate, which is on the rise in the county.

The Joint Judiciary Committee is continuing to work on the transfer of court supervised treatment programs from the Department of Health to the Wyoming Supreme Court.Some hope handing over the substance abuse court program’s oversight to the judicial branch will make treatment courts more effective--since the Supreme Court is directly involved with these programs.

The AgriStress Hotline is staffed 24/7, similar to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. The difference is, if a farmer or rancher calls, they’re going to get a response from someone who’s trained to help agricultural workers.

The state legislature allocated $25,000 of the budget to address high rates of suicides among first responders in the state. This money was taken by the Wyoming Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) and utilized to create the first ever First Responders Health and Wellness Conference that will take place August 22-24 in Casper. Wyoming Public Radio's Kamila Kudelska spoke with POST executive director Chris Walsh on why the conference is needed.