Emma Marsing, [email protected]
WYOMING — With spring right around the corner, Gov. Mark Gordon has announced the second-annual Mental Health Summit taking place on April 18th in Casper, WY bringing together mental health activists in Wyoming. This summit has an overall goal to expand, form, and execute a common vision around mental health within communities around the state.
According to Mental Health America, Wyoming adults are ranked 50th in the nation for mental health and have a high prevalence of mental health illness but have lower access to care. Wyoming youth are ranked 43rd in the nation and have a higher prevalence of mental health illness but also lack access to care as well. With that being said, Wyoming is ranked 1st in the nation for its high suicide rate with data presenting that suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-44.
Last October, Gov. Gordon held the first Mental Health Summit signifying the impact of youth trauma while also clarifying the importance of leadership roles so solutions are met for the mental health challenges Wyoming residents are facing. While the agenda of this summit has not been released Gov. Gordon stated, “After the success of last fall’s mental health summit, I look forward to continuing the conversation and further engaging Wyoming communities on this important issue. I hope that you will consider joining us again either in person or online”.
Registration and further information on the summit can be found here. For those who would like to attend but cannot make it, there will be a live stream of the event.
