There were two suicides in Great Falls over the Christmas holiday weekend. State lawmakers are bringing several bills related to suicide prevention in the 2017 legislative session that starts Monday.
"We have had one of the worst suicide rates for more than 40 years now," says Jessica Karjala, a second-term Democratic representative from Billings.
Karjala is co-sponsoring a bill to re-authorize Montana’s suicide prevention team. In 2013 lawmakers OK’d spending about a $100,000 a year for the team. Most of the money pays for gathering data on every suicide in the state.
"And it is for the purpose of coming up with a suicide reduction plan," Karjala says.
Lawmakers will also consider creating a psychiatric residency program, which Karjala says could reduce the shortage of mental health care in Montana.
Another bill would support something called "Project ECHO," which helps psychiatrists share their expertise in rural areas via telemedicine.