Montana trying to open dialogue among teens about mental-health issues; state leads country in suicides

Montana leads the country in suicides among young people, and some blame the "cowboy-up" attitude that has led to a statewide avoidance of open dialog about mental-health issues, reports Cindy Uken of the Billings Gazette. A unique program in the 8,500-population town of Miles City has  succeeded in getting young people to talk about depression, suicide, and mental health issues, and that program is now being brought to Billings, which has a population of more than 100,000. (Gazette photo by James Woodcock: Casey Elder of the Billings chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness speaks about the "Let's Talk Billings" campaign.)

From 2010 to 2011 Montana had 57 suicides among people aged 15 to 24, and 552 total suicides, Uken reported in a December 2012 story. Montanans kill themselves at a higher rate than any other state, with an estimated 15 attempts each day.

The Billings project will mirror the program in Miles City, including hiring a theater director and getting teens involved in theater workshops that will be performed at area schools and will include a question-and-answer session with a school counselor, reports Uken. It also includes creating a website for teens with information about depression and suicide, access to help at the local, regional and national level, and a Facebook page for teens to communicate with one other.

Among other goals are to work with administrators, staff and counselors at select high schools, researching local mental health resources, and reaching out to Native American youth, a group with an extremely high rate of suicide, Uken reports.