Wisconsin to Combat Suicides With New Funding

Friday, September 8th, 2023 -- 12:00 PM

(Natalie Eilbert, Green Bay Press-Gazette) 2021 and 2022 have been some of the deadliest years for suicide numbers in Wisconsin in at least two decades, and it's the first time the state has seen such high numbers two years in a row.

According to Natalie Eilbert with the Green Bay Press-Gazette, this rise in deaths by suicide is a grim trend across the nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide deaths have increased by about 36% between 2000 and 2021, with more than 48,000 people in the U.S. taking their lives and another 1.7 million attempting suicide in 2021.

That's part of why the CDC is funding 24 jurisdictions, including Wisconsin, through its comprehensive suicide prevention program, with the goal of reducing the nation's suicide numbers by 20% by 2025.

On Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers announced that his office and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services were joining the effort to reduce suicide among two at-risk populations by 10% over the next five years.

Those at-risk populations in Wisconsin, rural men over 25 years old and adolescents between 10 and 19 years old, require very different strategies, which the Wisconsin branch of Mental Health America has helped identify and implement.

“I declared 2023 the Year of Mental Health because we cannot overstate the profound impact the past few years have had on our kids, families, and communities, and we know that Wisconsinites across our state are struggling perhaps now more than ever,” Evers said in Wednesday's press release.

"It’s so important that we raise awareness and continue talking about this important issue so that folks know they are not alone and that help and support are available." In 2021, 905 Wisconsinites died by suicide and it's estimated that 912 people died by suicide in 2022, based on preliminary data from DHS.

As in every year since 2004, suicide deaths by firearm made up the majority of lethal means, by more than half in both 2021 and 2022.

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