Wyoming combats suicide

RIVERTON — In 2023, Wyoming no longer led the nation in suicide deaths per capita – but the challenges the state faces with suicide and mental health are far from solved. 

The Cowboy State still has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, and although significant attention has been paid to combatting this situation, the state remains a mental health care desert.

"Wyomingites are known as strong individualists, enduring vast terrain and unforgiving conditions. With this comes freedom and self-determination. With wide open spaces also comes isolation – underdeveloped health care systems and long response times,” Gov. Mark Gordon recently wrote. “Wyoming consistently ranks among the worst in the United States for suicide rate, with 155 deaths by suicide in 2023. Over the past several years, I have hosted town halls across the state to listen, learn, and share resources. In every community I visit, I ask those in attendance to raise their hand if they knew someone who had attempted suicide.

“The response is frighteningly overwhelming. Our communities are feeling the impacts of lost family members, friends, and neighbors."

Earlier this month, Gordon issued a proclamation declaring September Suicide Awareness Month in Wyoming. 

The city of Riverton also passed a proclamation recognizing Suicide Awareness Month, which highlighted that the suicide rate in Wyoming has increased by 23.1% in the past 20 years and more than 90% of people who die from suicide have a diagnosable and treatable mental health condition.

"I'm not going to say very much about this. I think the proclamation speaks for itself," Riverton Mayor Tim Hancock said. "But I do want to say that we have a lot of young people, especially in our community, that have struggled with mental health and being aware of that. Being caring toward them, helping them recognize that they're not alone in their struggles, helping them recognize that the world is much better with them in it, is I think something we all can do. And not shame people for those feelings, not make them feel like they're less, but help them get help, is something we all can do and I think it can make a big difference."

Youth at risk

"Across the country, families are sounding the alarm: Our health care system is failing children and parents when they need help most," said Jennifer Bransford, founder of Count on Mothers, a nonpartisan research organization focused on the perspectives of mothers in the U.S.

According to a recent survey conducted by Count on Mothers and Inseparable, a bipartisan mental health advocacy group, more than 14% – about one in seven – Wyoming moms reported that their children were unable to access mental health care when they needed it. Most cited cost as the major barrier to mental health care. 

Nationally, 56% of mothers report being concerned about their children's mental health, and one in two mothers face mental health struggles of their own.

"Professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have declared a national emergency in youth mental health, yet progress in expanding access to care remains uneven," the report notes.

"As both a mom and a mental health advocate, I'm deeply worried – but not surprised – by these findings," Inseparable Senior Vice President of Campaigns & Communications Kathleen Daughety commented in a press release. "Good mental health care for kids should be easy to find and affordable, but what we heard from moms in this survey is that it's not."

"In addition to participating in our critical survey, mothers courageously shared real stories of long waits, missed care, and confusion navigating the system. Private insurance requires parents and children to jump through time-consuming hoops to access care instead of meeting the children where they are," Bransford added. "This report is a call to action; our children's mental health – and their futures – are at stake."

According to the 2024 Prevention Needs Assessment Survey, more than 13% of Fremont County teens report having attempted suicide at least once; the state average was about 7.6%, roughly half the rate of Fremont County. 

Nearly 17% – more than one in six – of Fremont County sixth and eighth-graders reported having considered suicide in 2024.

This story was published on Sept. 24, 2025.