Annual Suicide Prevention, Awareness Walk Set For Sept. 17

The Natrona County Suicide Prevention Task Force will host the annual Breaking the Silence Walk at Crossroads Park, 1101 N. Poplar St., at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept.17, according to a news release from the Task Force.

The free event offers the opportunity to remember loved ones lost to suicide and to raise awareness about suicide.

The walking path follows the North Platte River. Participants may walk the whole path or part of it.

BBQ’s Food Truck will be providing food to the first 300 attendees.

Informational resource tables will be available at the event.

Wyoming has had the highest suicide rates in the nation for years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2020, 2019 and 2018, those rates were 30.5, 29.3, and 25.2 per 100,000 respectively, followed by Alaska in 2020 and 2019, and New Mexico in 2018.

In 2018, 2019, and 2020, New Jersey had the lowest suicide rate across the country at 8.3, eight, and 7.1 respectively, followed by New York over all three years.

Elsewhere, the Wyoming Department of Health will host the two-day 2022 Wyoming Suicide Prevention Symposium at the Little America Resort in Cheyenne starting Sept. 26.

For more information, contact Task Force coordinator Brittlynn Adame at (307) 233-4277 or badame@mercercasper.com.