Wyoming will join several other state legislatures in having a vested interest in suicide prevention as the House of Representatives passed the Jason Flatt Act and forwarded it to the Senate last week.
The Jason Flat Act will provide school districts with the funds to instruct teachers and school administrators on suicide prevention education. According to the bill, both the teachers and administrators will be required to have at least eight hours of suicide prevention education every four years.
According to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), 46 states have statewide suicide prevention plans. Wyoming currently has two in place including The State of Wyoming Suicide Prevention Plan of 2011 and the Report on Suicide in Wyoming of 2012.
The state of Wyoming alone has recorded 3,164 suicide related deaths since 1980, according to a SPRC study. Although the highest numbers come from middle-aged white males, Wyoming’s youth suicide is twice the national average.
Ericka Matthews, Public Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention Manager at the Wyoming Department of Health, said she thought the bill was a great step in the right direction in suicide prevention.
“I agree with the bill, I feel like more education is an important part of suicide prevention,” Matthews said. “We are working on several things right now in the suicide prevention department, but education is going to have a major impact and is a good step forward.”
In an interview with Wyoming Public Media, the Senate Education Chairman Hank Coe said that he supported the bill and hoped it would also cover the issues of bullying in schools.
“It is a serious problem. If we can go out with something like this and prevent one [suicide] its worthwhile,” Coe said.
For more information on getting involved in suicide prevention visit www.pmowyo.org.
