Opinion: Dialing 911 for a mental health emergency will soon dispatch clinicians, not police sandiegouniontribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sandiegouniontribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In the final days of 2020, an 85 year-old resident of Alta, WY, died by suicide. Another valley resident made a plan for suicide by firearm, and tactful intervention by sheriffâs deputies prevented his death.
Idaho has had a troublingly high suicide rate for years. 2018 saw 362 Idahoan deaths by suicide, and 2019 saw 409. (These stats earned the state the ranking of fifth highest in the nation; a list tragically topped by our nearby neighbor, Wyoming.) While itâs too soon to calculate the overall effect of the 2020 pandemic on the stateâs number of deaths by suicide, itâs clear that there are many factors that make our community at elevated risk. Awareness of these factors, in combination with the willingness to discuss them openly with friends and family, can quite literally save a life.