City officials say groups remain engaged on issues of teen violence and behavioral health

CASPER, Wyo. — Casper city officials said Tuesday various groups are still working together on the problem of bullying, teen violence and suicide. The discussion was prompted by a mother speaking during public comment who said the problem was at “a fever pitch.”

The discussion included references to Bobby Maher and Lene’a Brown: two Casper teens who were victims of homicide by a peer in separate incidents this spring. The mother, who identified herself at Katie, said all five of her kids in the Natrona County School District have experienced severe bullying. She echoed others parents who say the district isn’t doing enough.

City Attorney Eric Nelson said he’d been meeting with members of the Natrona Collective Health Trust and the Casper-Natrona County Health Department on efforts to bring together “disparate groups that are looking at this from various angles.”

The Natrona Health Collective Trust prioritizes funding nonprofits that address issues around access to poverty, abuse, neglect, lack of health care access, and other socioeconomic factors that it says are at the root of poor health outcomes, including behavioral and mental health issues.

The Blue Hearts Collaborative, which emerged in the wake of Maher’s death was also mentioned as an active group against youth violence. Councilor Gamroth said the group was set to host a fundraising basketball tournament. The Youth Mental Health Collective was also mentioned among the coordinating efforts.

Nelson said the discussions had been largely on hold in the month of July, but the groups remain engaged.

“There’s a lot work going on,” Nelson said. “I don’t know that it’s all coordinated at this point, but hopefully we’ll start to see some tangible steps forward at the end of the summer,” Nelson said. He added that he would be participating directly as a community stakeholder.

Nelson said that the school district had been approached in the midst of these efforts and that, to his knowledge, it had been responsive to some extent.

Councilors Jai-Ayla Sutherland, Brandy Haskins, and Amber Pollock agreed that they’d like to hear a direct update from the district.

During public comment, Katie said her kids and many of their friends have been experiencing severe bullying. “And it seems the pattern across the district is the same: do little, say little, and maybe it will go away,” she said.  “[There’s] rampant homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism… [and it] is erupting into violence and suicide,” Katie said.

Her comments echoed those of parents who organized and joined the Facebook Enough is Enough, which has over 700 members, including some teachers, organizers said. They organized a demonstration outside the district offices on May 30. The district put out no-trespassing signs and secured police assistance. The district said it had reached out to an organizer beforehand to advise it would not allow a demonstration to disrupt district offices.

Outgoing superintendent Mike Jennings and superintendent-elect Angela Hensley told Oil City News before the demonstration the district’s robust bullying policies are always applied. They said there may be a perception that action isn’t being taken because the meetings are confidential, so parents on one side of the issue won’t hear of action taken on the other side.