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CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The number of Wyoming residents who died by suicide in 2016 has been about the same as numbers in previous years, which suicide prevention advocates say suggests awareness campaigns and prevention methods are working.
According to the state Department of Health, 131 people have died by suicide in Wyoming through mid-December of this year. Officials say that number is comparable with those from the same time period in the past few years, The Casper Star-Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/2hAxs0p).
According to 2014 data from the Centers for Disease Control, for every 100,000 Wyoming residents, about 21 will kill themselves. In 2014, suicide was the seventh-highest cause of death in Wyoming.
Wyoming's stalled numbers come as the suicide rate in the country has steadily increased by 24 percent, from 10 to 13 suicides per 100,000 people between 1999 and 2014.
Terresa Humphries-Wadsworth, director of statewide suicide prevention at the Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming, said the steady rate of suicide in the state means Wyoming's outreach programs are making progress.
"We're making progress, meaning we are not increasing like the rest of nation," Humphries-Wadsworth said. "We're keeping a lid on it."
Multiple factors contribute to Wyoming's relatively high rate of death by suicide, Humphries-Wadsworth said. People who live in rural areas often have to travel long distances to receive medical help and other resources. Six of the 10 states with the highest rates of suicide are along the spine of the Rocky Mountains, a largely rural region.
Humphries-Wadsworth said her organization has trained more than 44,000 Wyoming residents in ways to help people contemplating suicide since 2013. They also train people to recognize warning signs of suicide and to help people in crisis to get professional help.
"Since there's no single cause (of suicide), there's no single solution," Humphries-Wadsworth said. "We all need training on how to bring it up and what to do."
Overall, people have gotten better about talking about suicide and mental illness issues, Humphries-Wadsworth said.
"I think we're beginning to see stigma around mental health issues shift and change," she said. "But culture change takes time."
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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com
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