Suicide deaths and attempts are epidemic in Montana. Youth Suicide rates are nearly double the national average.  Montana has ranked in the top five for suicide rates in the nation for the past forty years.  For all age groups for data collected for the year 2011, Montana was tied for the highest rate of suicide in the United States (American Association of Suicidology, June 2014).   In Montana, between 2002 and 2011, suicide was  the number two cause of death for children ages 10-14, adolescents ages 15-24 and adults ages 25-44, behind only unintentional injuries (CDC, 2014)

Access to lethal means (firearms), alcohol, an sense of being a burden, social isolation, underlying mental illness and a societal stigma against depression, all contribute to the high rate of youth suicide in Montana. (Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services, 2015).
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In 2013, 26.4% of high school students in Montana reported they felt so sad or hopeless that they stopped doing some of their usual activities.  Statewide, 16.8% of students had seriously considered attempting suicide during the 12 months before the survey, 13.6% of students had made a plan about how they would attempt suicide, 7.9% of students had attempted suicide one or more times and 2.6% of students statewide had made a suicide attempt that resulted in an injury, poisoning or an overdose that had to be treated by a doctor or nurse.  The news is even worse for Montana American Indian students (Montana YRBS, 2013)

Effective suicide prevention strategies include early intervention by trained mental health professionals; increasing public awareness of warning signs and how to respond; peer support; substance abuse treatment; and screening for depression.  While many of these services are available, access is often limited by lack of health insurance and economic status, particularly for professional mental health counseling.

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INFORMATION & RESOURCES

MONTANA Department of health & human services

STATE SUICIDE PLAN - PDF

OTHER STATE RESOURCES