If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of harming themselves, please call 911. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text “WYO” to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line.
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Heading into Suicide Prevention Week, Campbell County governments have formally recognized the value of efforts to prevent suicide.
National Suicide Prevention Week this year is Sept. 10–16. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention recognizes all of September as National Suicide Prevention Month.
Campbell County Prevention Specialist Ashley McRae, who developed the Campbell County Prevention Council’s website of resources, said at the Campbell County commissioners’ Sept. 6 meeting that while the number of suicides has decreased this year, the number of calls to the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 988, has increased drastically.
“We’re able to connect more people to resources versus just sending them to the hospital,” McRae said.
So far for 2023, Campbell County has experienced 12 suicide deaths, she said. At this time in 2022, 15 had occurred.
Commissioner Del Shelstad said it’s possible to see the increase in crisis calls, compared with the deaths, as being effective for suicide prevention. Commissioners read a proclamation regarding suicide awareness.
McRae said in a phone interview Sept. 6 that the deaths by suicide that have occurred since July 2022 have tended to involve alcohol use, access to a firearm and an interpersonal issue. The “interpersonal issue” is often an argument between spouses. From roughly 2009 to 2021, about half of Campbell County suicides involved alcohol. Now, 88% of people who die by suicide have alcohol in their system.
While most people think someone who died by suicide was likely previously diagnosed with depression or anxiety, Campbell County data shows that recent victims are not necessarily people who have thought about it for a long time or have a severe mental illness, McRae said. Instead, their deaths involve undiagnosed mental illness or are impulsive.
“It’s hard to combat that. … That’s honestly why we’re pushing safety plans out like crazy before somebody is in crisis,” she said.
She said that in a training that she gave recently, an audience member said that he didn’t recognize that he had been considering suicide until McRae began discussing it. He said that recognizing the signs and knowing steps he could take toward emotional safety would help him know, even in a moment of crisis, that there are alternatives to suicide.
McRae said someone putting together a safety plan for themself can include a list of people they would likely feel comfortable calling for help and the contact information for an individual to whom they give their firearms for that time of crisis.
“Then, it’s already there and you don’t have to think about it,” she said. “You just grab that plan.”
A Campbell County Suicide Prevention Coalition Facebook post on Sept. 1 said everyone, even those who have never had a mental health concern or suicidal ideation, should create a plan.
During the Gillette City Council’s Sept. 5 meeting, McRae gave a similar update before Gillette Mayor Shay Lundvall read the city’s proclamation. She said Gillette police and Campbell County deputies are all getting trained in crisis intervention.
Campbell County School District board members also read a proclamation at their last meeting. Chair Anne Ochs said that all school staff have received training in suicide prevention. The school has details regarding its resources here.
