Wednesday at the state capitol Girl Scouts from across Montana gathered to honor some of their own.
Among them was Jaydyn Child, a junior in high school in Dillon, one of two recipients of the Gold Award, the highest achievement in girl scouting. She decided to do something about Montana’s high suicide rate, especially among young people.
Credit Girls Scouts of Montana and Wyoming
Montana has the highest overall suicide rate in the nation, and among teenagers and young adults, it’s twice as high as the national average.
Jaydyn’s project, called “Teen Suicide – your life is worth living” involved 150 hours of work, raising money, printing pamphlets, making bracelets, and arranging for a nationally-known motivational speaker to appear at her school.
