Montana is facing a serious and deadly issue.
According to data from the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, for all age groups, Montana has ranked in the top five for suicide rates in the nation, for the past thirty years. And in Montana between 2011-20 the youth suicide (ages 11-17) rate is 11.9/100,000. This is more than double the national rate for the same age group (4.98).
The Havre Fire Department and EMS will often respond to mental health related emergencies, and Havre Fire Chief Nathan Courtnage says those calls are coming more frequently.
“I would say so yeah, a lot of it is the carryover from Covid I believe. People are isolated a little bit more, and anxious a little bit more, and then like I said with the holidays approaching, and the days getting shorter and darkness. It all compiles on people that aren’t able to reach out for resources or feel lonely, or those sorts of things.”-Nathan Courtnage
