Suicide

While the national suicide rate among veterans is declining, a recent study found that the suicide rate in eight states, including Montana, may be more than double what the VA is reporting.

A bipartisan U.S. Senate agreement negotiated after high-profile mass shootings in Texas, New York, and Oklahoma lacks gun access restrictions that advocates say are needed to prevent such attacks. But the deal’s focus on mental health has raised hopes — and doubts — that it will help reduce gun suicides, particularly in rural Western states with wide-open gun laws.

Tribal officials and various mental health advocates have been trying to find an alternative for nearly a decade. But the Fort Peck reservation is still badly lacking in both secure psychiatric facilities and qualified mental health workers.

A 15-year-old patient died by suicide earlier this year while under the care of Shodair Children’s Hospital in Helena. A state health department report released to Montana Free Press outlines insufficient staffing and inadequate monitoring in the hospital’s residential psychiatric unit may have contributed to the child’s death in May.

Research into nearly 200,000 Montana death records from the last two decades has put hard numbers to anecdotes about suicides and drug- and…

The Senate veterans' affairs committee got an early progress report this week on a newly established program. Created by a new law, the program aims to…

A U.S. Department of Defense report says the National Guard’s suicide rate is higher than its active duty and Reserve counterparts. DoD says there are…

The state health department is expanding hours and staffing of phone lines for mental health therapy and suicide prevention. This comes amid a surge of…

Farming and ranching have always been considered risky. But more extreme weather events, low prices and uncertainty have led to higher rates of...

Ten percent of Montana high school students say they’ve attempted suicide in the past year, according to a statewide survey released last month. The...