suicide prevention

Governor Gordon visited the Central Wyoming Counseling Center on Tuesday to learn more about the organization's suicide prevention lifeline and the texting services that accompany it.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month and this week is also National Suicide Prevention Week. According to the Wyoming Department of Health, a new Wyoming-based suicide prevention lifeline is now available.

Wyoming also was the only state not to have its own suicide hotline.

The department says the request would allow it to look for a call center provider.

Wilkie, who visited the Cheyenne VA Medical Center on Thursday, says 14 of the 20 veterans who commit suicide everyday are not in the VA system.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention lists Wyoming, as of 2016, as 3rd highest in the nation for suicides per state.

Suicide prevention has been one of Governor Mead's top priorities, and this will be highlighted at the symposium taking place in Cheyenne on May 9th.

So while the restoration of funding for community-based services is good news, Brand said Wyoming still has a long way to go to adequately address its suicide problem.

The event is a fundraiser for Grace for 2 Brothers, which works to prevent suicide through education and awareness programs.

The fund-raising drive is an effort to make up for state funding cuts to suicide prevention programs.