‘It’s a human issue’, City of Rock Springs works to develop suicide postvention plans

Editors’ note: This piece discusses suicide and may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

ROCK SPRINGS — Suicide is often sudden and unexpected. Survivors are unprepared for the loss and want to know why the person took their life. The grief associated with this tragedy can be overwhelming.

A local family knows this all too well. Dawson Fantin, a 2023 Rock Springs High School graduate who began a new chapter at UW on a prestigious Trustees’ Scholar Award, stunned those close to him with his untimely passing.

According to an Oct. 24 WyoFile news article, it took the University of Wyoming “nearly three weeks” to send an email to the campus acknowledging a student had died.

Many people were baffled about UW holding back the news.

The city takes action

After reaching out to UW, Rock Springs Mayor Max Mickelson and Dr. Kent Corso met with representatives of UW. Corso is one of 50 suicidologists in the U.S. After postvention training, officials from the university went door to door on campus to ask students how they’re doing.

Lately, UW officials have been working with Corso on postvention and finding out what they should do in case of another suicide.

“They are now handling it appropriately. A lot of people were very angry, but all I can ask is that people need room to grow,” Mickelson said. “How we get there doesn’t matter. What matters is that we’re there.”

Mickelson pointed out that everyone struggles with how to respond to suicides.

“It’s difficult and we don’t want to cause harm,” he said. “It can paralyze people and organizations. UW is taking preventive and postvention measures to help people through the fallout of suicide.”

“I’m very grateful to the university and the governor’s office for their intent and for their work to address a very deeply uncomfortable issue.”

Many of Dawson’s friends carried the burden of notifying others about their friend’s suicide, but now UW is working on a plan to notify people, according to Mickelson. He noted the university is still restricted because a student’s information is considered confidential.

While some families are open to releasing information about their loved one’s cause of death, especially suicide, other families are not; therefore, the institution’s “hands are tied.”

Mickelson said he feels frustrated with conversations about suicide because it often gets bound up in politics and legality.

“It is fundamentally not a political issue,” he said. “We need to comply with the law, but it’s also not a legal issue. It’s a human issue. All of us should be aware, concerned and involved.”

Mickelson said the city is working to develop a comprehensive post-event plan with community partners, adding, “Leaders should say, ‘We had an event. We need to act.’

“It doesn’t matter if it’s someone working at Tata Chemicals, a student in the district or a lonely grandmother — we have plans on how we should respond to suicide as a community,” he said.

Mickelson is doing research on a program that has helped reduce the number of suicides in Laramie County, and he plans to speak to the Laramie County Coroner regarding this program.

“Sweetwater County is the third highest in suicides in Wyoming,” Mickelson said. “We’re officially at 13 suicides in 2024.”

He noted Dawson’s suicide isn’t counted because he didn’t die in Rock Springs.

“There has been lots of people from Rock Springs who died by suicide in other communities, so we’re much higher,” he explained.

SCSD No. 1 support, referals after suicide

The city of Rock Springs has also been working with Sweetwater County School District No. 1.

Dr. Joe Libby, superintendent for SCSD No. 1, told Rocket Miner this is a community effort in which the schools indeed have a huge part.

“We have a lot of momentum right now where many key organizations are paying attention to this issue,” Mickelson said.

Libby said postvention work was “definitely carried forward” after contacting Dawson’s family and loss survivors while respecting their wishes.

“We have a crisis response team ready at whatever school the crisis is at. We run individual response sessions or group sessions for as long as needed so we don’t overwhelm the school’s team,” Libby explained. “We then contact any of the activities leaders, community leaders, and most importantly, the family for the next few weeks to see how things are going. We then debrief with the crisis response team.”

In the meantime, Libby said his team is monitoring staff and students for various needs and emotional status.

“If we can support, we do, and if we need to refer, we do. Students will group up naturally to support each other and the time for them to do so is given. We follow the steps in the attached schools to not hinder healing and support, to stay in our roles and under the scope of our practice.”

He also noted postvention work is never the same, as referenced in many researched articles that guide them.

The teachers in the district are also trained in QPR (Question, Persuade and Respond).

Mickelson said the city’s next step is to reach out to industries and the mines.

According to him, an economic study would show the suicide rate is “harming our community in very tangible ways.”

UW officials said they waited to announce Dawson’s death since the news of it was shared on social media.

“Social media is not an appropriate first line of communication when it comes to suicide,” Mickelson said. “It’s a lack of social grace that should be addressed but unfortunately, you have those who feel the need to be first to share bad news. No one should find out the death of a loved one on social media.”

Western helps students cope after loss

Mickelson noted Western Wyoming Community College responded quickly during the first week of Dawson’s death.

“I’m very proud of how our local organizations responded,” he said.

Dr. Kirk Young, president of Western Wyoming Community College, said the Dean of Students Office is open to all students who are looking for help or services in general.

After Dawson’s death, the dean contacted the Wellbeing and Accessibility Office to prepare staff for any students struggling with the news and to offer counseling services. In addition to offering in-person counseling, Western is contracted with Uwill to provide online services as well.

“For me personally, as a father, and president of Western, I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Dawson,” Young said. “Our hearts ache for his family during this unimaginable, difficult time. As a community, we must come together and support one another and ensure that no one feels alone in their struggle.

“We are open to any part we can take in suicide prevention.”

Mickelson hopes the city can develop a model that other communities in Wyoming can follow.

“This is a real issue for all these communities. It’s important to know how to support each other,” he said. “It is painful and awkward to talk about it, but none of us are immune. Any of us can be directly impacted.”

At Dawson’s funeral, Mickelson saw about a dozen people who had lost a family member to suicide, noting this is “routine here.”

“Whether we talk about suicide or not, we’re going to be impacted by it. The best thing we can do is offer support to each other while we try to reduce the suicide rate in Rock Springs,” he said.

The public is invited to the Survivors of Suicide Loss event. This free event is set for Saturday, Nov. 23, at the Broadway Theater, 11 a.m. — 1 p.m. Resources and counselors will be available to talk as well.

This story was published on November 20, 2024.