Lewis and Clark County Suicide Prevention - The Lewis and Clark County Suicide Prevention project aims to reduce suicide in Lewis and Clark County through systematic mental health awareness and crisis de-escalation training that will build the capacity of emergency first-responders, schools, and other target groups to respond safely and appropriately to individuals with severe mental or emotional disorders. Paired with the CONNECT Referral System and the 211 resource line, the project improves access to mental health services to help those individuals enter into recovery.
Lewis and Clark County has a population of 67,282 with the majority of residents living in the greater Helena area. The catchment area includes the cities of Helena and East Helena, the only incorporated cities within the county. The populations to be served include middle and high school students of both the Helena and East Helena school districts, those individuals that have interactions with law enforcement, military service members, veterans and their families and caregivers, and community members.
Goals of the project are to increase the capacity of Helena and East Helena school districts, law enforcement and first responders, military personnel, medical and mental health providers and parents and community members to identify and respond to county resident’s mental health needs in order to prevent suicide.
The measurable objectives are to provide mental health trainings that are best suited to each of the populations. The trainings include: Mental Health First Aid, Youth Mental Health First Aid, Question Persuade Refer, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Psych Armor Military cultural competence, the Columbia Lighthouse screening tool, Means Matter gun lock education, Advanced Suicide Interventions Skills Training and Signs of Suicide.
Integrated with current efforts via the Helena SAMHSA Mayor’s Challenge to bolster suicide prevention efforts for service members, veterans, and their families, the training leg of the project will increase military cultural competency among service providers and other target groups while providing lethal means education to help reduce the likelihood of further completions.
The annual unduplicated number of people trained is 4,541 with a 3-year project impact of 13,623. These numbers are those that will be trained and the larger impact (reach) will be the entire community.
