A local mental health expert thinks community support and programs are helping drop suicide rates in the state.
Rates rose 40 percent between 2000 and 2017. But in 2018 the number went down.
Erin Bongers is a nurse with the De Pere Health Department. She says people aren’t embarassed about a broken bone, but might not ask for help with mental issues. Bongers says in Brown County they’ve been trying programs in schools. She says the goal is for people to recognize when someone else needs help.
Bongers says hospitals and businesses are also starting to do suicide prevention training for their staff.
