suicide prevention

In Wyoming, there’s already some guardrails in place to limit involving law enforcement without a caller’s consent.

Two free events in Casper this week will take a deep look at mental health in the Cowboy State.

For the past two years, two Wyoming call centers have been servicing all calls to the 988 suicide hot line coming from a 307 area code. Now, those who text with a 307 number will also get a response from someone in Wyoming. Beforehand texts were going to national call centers.

This week, we’re looking at state legislative races in the northeast corner of the state and we’ll take a deeper look at the Republicans challenging U.S. Senator John Barrasso in the primary.The Road to Cheyenne is our special series previewing the primary elections.

The rollout of the relatively new crisis lifeline has been uneven across Mountain West states. Wyoming has some of the highest response rates at 90%, while Nevada’s is at 68%.

June 19 marked the 70th anniversary since former Wyoming Gov. and U.S. Sen.Lester Hunt died by suicide in his office in Washington, D.C. Hunt’s political career peaked amid McCarthyism and he himself was targeted politically by McCarthy’s cronies. For many years, details of the political pressures exerted over Hunt were underreported or hidden. Our panelists, including historians, a current state lawmaker and a mental health expert, consider Hunt’s life and legacy, and the throughlines between his lifetime and today.

The two-time Wyoming governor and U.S. senator led the state through a politically tumultuous era. He died by suicide in 1954.

This comes in the wake of a community tragedy and as men increasingly seek out close-knit groups for emotional support.

Wyoming’s 988 suicide lifeline funding bill is dead, but there’s still a chance that it could get the funding advocates are hoping for before the session ends.

This week, mental health practitioners and firearms experts are coming together to discuss safety and support for gun owners.