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.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The state of mental health advocacy and funding is changing throughout Wyoming. This is according to Gov. Mark Gordon, who participated in a public town hall discussion Monday at the Wyoming State Capitol about the Cowboy’s State’s efforts to up its commitment to addressing the need for mental health support.
“There is a need that has clearly been expressed,” Gordon said at Monday’s town hall meeting. “We care because you matter.”
During Monday’s meeting, Gordon was joined by a joint committee of leaders spanning various state departments, including the House of Representatives, Wyoming Supreme Court, Department of Family Services, Department of Corrections and Department of Health. The goal of the mental health initiative is so “all Wyoming residents are empowered to seek services and engage in healthy physical and emotional behaviors,” according to Monday’s presentation.
The Wyoming governor outlined his plans to execute his “Mental Health Roadmap” and take on the state’s ever-growing demand for mental health support. Gordon’s approach to reforming Wyoming’s mental health services rests on five pillars, according to the governor’s office’s official “Wyoming Behavioral Health Reform Report”:
- Cultural shift: Fostering statewide discourse on behavioral health services and getting more residents to accept that it’s OK to seek help.
- Affordability: Acknowledging that healthcare for Americans is often costly, even when those services are insured, and addressing that financial burden for Wyomingites.
- Access to care: Allowing Wyomingites to easily see a qualified health provider.
- Quality of care: Bringing desired health outcomes and fortifying workforces who maintain behavioral health best practices.
- Innovation: Embracing new ideas and strategies for handling mental health needs.
Gordon discussed various key strategies he and leaders with state departments are implementing to address these areas of mental health. For 2024, resources will be poured into bolstering workforce development, criminal justice reform, community behavioral health reform and suicide prevention. For 2025 and beyond, Gordon and his team will compose strategies based on this year’s outcomes.
In terms of funding, the governor said at Monday’s meeting he has requested $2 million for pediatric specialization services, $2 million to contract for mobile crisis centers statewide and $4 million in ARPA funds for suicide prevention efforts.
Another of Gordon’s key strategies is reducing stigma around seeking help. The “cultural shift” pillar of the governor’s strategy recognizes that “Wyoming is deeply rooted in a culture of independence and self-reliance which potentially contributes to the stigma of seeking behavioral health services thus contributing to the high suicide rates.” Gordon and his state agency partners want to foster a culture that normalizes discussions about behavioral health needs.
“I think what we’re coming to is a roadmap for the future,” Gordon said.
To view Wyoming’s full mental health road map, view the document below.
Community comments
Following the governor’s presentation, the public had a chance to weigh in on Wyoming’s mental health needs. Audience members shared their personal stories and questioned Gordon and other leaders about their efforts to address the behavioral health needs of various groups of people, including prison inmates, school children, veterans, those suffering from dementia and their families and others.
One Wyoming resident, who is deaf, addressed Gordon and the other state leaders via an interpreter. She stated deaf individuals don’t always receive the necessary care they need, such as financial support to hire interpreters. Individuals in the deaf community may feel isolated when they lack the means to communicate with others, the woman said.
“We’re humans, we have minds, we have feelings,” the resident said via her interpreter.
A representative from the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office said risk of suicide attempts among inmates with serious mental health issues has doubled over the past several years. Among those attempts, none have been successful, the representative reported.
Another audience member, a hospital worker, brought dementia into the discussion. She said those with it lose their basic ability to navigate everyday tasks without help. This puts a toll on dementia patients’ mental health, as well as those of family members. She urged Gordon and his team to consider the impact dementia has on Wyomingites.
Youth mental health was also a pertinent concern among Wyomingites. Audience members’ points of discussion included the prevalence of school shootings and false alarms, bullying and how schools are reaching out to parents about students’ behavioral health.
One woman, a grandmother, said her grandchildren tell her about their mental health issues. Bullying is a catalyst to their struggles, she said. The grandmother told Gordon’s team to consider how they are involving public schools in the conversation about mental health.
“We need to start at that level,” the woman said. “What are the triggers?”
Other members of the audience shared heart-wrenching stories of family members who had taken their own lives. They commended the governor’s ongoing plans to boost the state’s behavioral health workforce and cultivate dialogue surrounding seeking help.
“I support everything you are doing,” one man said to Gordon and the roundtable of leaders. He said he unsuccessfully attempted to take his own life five years ago. He added that “it’s OK to say suicide” and that he has been rejected from public speaking events regarding suicide at schools due to the sensitive subject matter.
Another proponent for reducing suicide stigma, Shea Ward, provided his thoughts on the state’s efforts. Ward, who is executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Wyoming, said the mental health roadmap is “helping reduce the stigma and meeting [patients] where they’re at.”
“Elevating the conversation to this level has helped a lot,” Ward said.
Laramie County Coroner Rebecca Reid said audience members’ collective efforts to address behavioral health have resulted in lowering the suicide rate in Laramie County.
“Every human is valuable, no matter how deep their struggle is,” said an audience member, who added she has family members who struggle with mental health issues. “We learn out of our weaknesses how to do better.”
Gordon again addressed those in the auditorium at the end of the public hearing.
“We’re not stopping. We’re going to keep going with this effort,” the governor said. He then clarified the path ahead won’t be “an overnight fix, but you do have commitment here.”
