Lawmakers propose cuts to suicide and substance abuse prevention

CHEYENNE — In the past five years, 45,000 Wyomingites have been trained to watch for warning signs of someone who might be suicidal. That’s about 9 percent of the state’s population, the most of anywhere in the nation.

Teachers, police, nurses and others have undergone the training, said Keith Hotle, CEO of the Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming, which has been involved in the work.

“The best way is to do it directly,” he said. “Have a conversation with a person, ‘So you’re feeling suicidal. Let’s talk about it.’”

The training could be saving lives in a state that had the second-highest suicide rate in 2015, he said. Forty-four percent of the people who have gone through the classes said they’ve used the skills they learned.

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