Wyoming Governor Gordon Calls for Open Talk on Suicide Prevention in Signed Op-Ed
The Office of the Governor of Wyoming on November 5 released a signed op-ed by Governor Mark Gordon, "Wyoming Survives Together, So Let's Talk About Suicide," calling for open conversation about mental health and setting out the state's suicide prevention efforts.
Gordon wrote that true Western grit is found not in isolated silence or solitary struggle but in connection, community, respect, and knowing when to step up. He described the fall Stronger Together Suicide Prevention Symposium, where teachers, veterans, healthcare workers, industry partners, and community leaders gathered, and noted that more than 4,000 citizens from every walk of life have been trained in suicide awareness prevention, in person and online. Wyoming has also secured dedicated funding for 24/7 in-state answering of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by trained Wyoming staff.
Specific initiatives cited include the statewide WY We Care initiative and its Survivors Campaign; Virtual Crisis Care, rolled out with the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police and support from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, equipping law enforcement officers with dedicated tablets to connect people in distress directly with behavioral health professionals; and the new statewide Rural Health Transformation Program to expand telehealth and other behavioral health models. The op-ed also cites the Senior Life Solutions outpatient program at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County for older adults, Ortus Foundation programs in schools, evidence-based practices and training at the University of Wyoming, and veteran-to-veteran peer support programs.
Gordon said he recently hosted a Western Governors' Association workshop in Jackson focused on reducing the stigma around mental health and expanding access to care, commending WGA Chair Governor Josh Green and his Health Beyond Healthcare chair's initiative. "We have made progress, but we are not done. The stakes are too high," he wrote. "Let's keep talking. Let's keep listening. Together we will make a difference."
(Source: Office of the Governor of Wyoming)
Source: Office of the Governor of Wyoming
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：怀俄明州州长 Mark Gordon 在 Gillette 的市政厅活动上发言。美国参议员 Cynthia Lummis 办公室摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon speaking at a town hall in Gillette, Wyoming. Photo by the Office of U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
