Mission

The Natrona County Suicide Prevention Task Force is a collaboration of individuals and organizations focused on reducing suicides and the stigma surrounding suicide by providing awareness, resources, training and support to the community.

Vision

A community free of suicide.

Values

Experiences (lived and professional)

Connection

Individuals

Action

Empathy

Integrity

Responsibility

Inclusivity statement: The Natrona County Suicide Prevention Task Force (NCSPTF) operations reflect the belief that our community is enriched when people with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives collaborate together as active, equal participants working to reduce suicide in Natrona County. Thus, NCSPTF actively seeks to promote access and inclusivity for all, and opposes any form of discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

Get Involved

Join our monthly meetings!

When: The second Tuesday of the month at 11am (note: no meeting in July)

Where: Mercer Family Resource Center 535 West Yellowstone Hwy Casper, WY 82601 in the upstairs group room. Zoom option available!

Can’t attend the meeting? Send a quick “Hello! I want to get involved!” to NCSPTF@mercercasper.com to be added to our email list!

Donate today and change lives

To truly increase suicide awareness and prevention throughout the State of Wyoming, it requires hard work from all involved, and we appreciate any dollar amount donation you would like to support our cause with. The Natrona County Suicide Prevention Task force is dedicated to ensuring that any money donated is properly used to progress suicide prevention efforts.

Online donations can be made at our online portal through Mercer Family Resource Center, who acts as our fiscal agent. Use this link to donate: Suicide Prevention Task Force Donations

Suicide Prevention Training

You don’t have to be a mental health professional to prevent suicide! The Natrona County Suicide Prevention Task Force offers various levels of suicide prevention training to ANYONE in Natrona County, from basic to advanced. The training options below are each designed to fit different levels of needs and experience. These effective, research-informed approaches can provide you with the information and skills needed to identify warning signs, connect resources, and take action to prevent suicide. Current funding from the Natrona Collective Health Trust and the Wyoming Community Foundation have made these training options affordable if not FREE for participants to attend.

If you are interested in attending or hosting one of these courses, please reach out to the Suicide Prevention Task Force Coordinator, Sheena Hixson, at 307-233-4262 or by email at ncsptf@mercercasper.com

S.P.A.T. (Suicide Prevention Awareness Team)

The Suicide Prevention Awareness Team (S.P.A.T) is a subcommittee of the Youth Empowerment Council (YEC). S.P.A.T is a group of young volunteers aged 13-18 who partner with the Natrona County Suicide Prevention Task Force to spread awareness by educating their peers on the warning signs, risk factors, and protective factors associated with suicide. S.P.A.T. presents a peer-to-peer training to youth as young as 3rd grade through high school, but they are not limited to school settings. This dedicated group of teens is willing to share their passion for suicide prevention to any individual or group who is willing to listen.
The S.P.A.T. presentation alone is about 40 minutes long. If a survivor talk is included, the time required is about 90 minutes.
For more information about S.P.A.T or to schedule a presentation, please call the YEC coordinator, Justine Marton, at 307-233-4266 or send an email to jmateri@mercercasper.com

ASIST Training

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is an interactive two-day workshop in suicide intervention. ASIST teaches participants to recognize when someone may have thoughts of suicide, and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety.

ASIST is a two-day interactive workshop that is helpful for any level of expertise.

QPR- Question. Persuade. Refer.

Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. The signs of crisis are all around us. We believe that quality education empowers all people, regardless of their background, to make a positive difference in the life of someone they know. QPR is the most widely taught Gatekeeper training in the world, and is a perfect place to start!

The training takes 1.5 hours and is always offered for FREE from the Natrona County Suicide Prevention Task Force.

MHFA Training

Mental Health First Aid is a skills-based training course that teaches participants about mental health and substance-use issues. This training teaches a 5-step action plan that prepares you to respond to someone else (either Youth or Adult) going through a mental health challenge or crisis situation.
Mental Health First Aid can help you identify, understand, and respond to signs of addiction and mental illnesses. Our loved ones, friends, neighbors and coworkers are frequently experiencing intense struggles. Sometimes we aren’t sure if or how we should respond. This class prepares you for that!
Anyone age 18+ who would benefit from this training are welcome to attend! No previous training or specific background is required.

VitalCog Training

VitalCog (formerly known as Working Minds) is nationally accredited program that trains organizations and businesses to proactively address the early warning signs of suicide in the workplace.

Just as organizations have realized they can help reduce heart disease by encouraging exercise, they can also reduce suicide by promoting mental health and encouraging early identification and intervention.

This 2.5 hour training will educate and equip businesses with tools to address mental health and suicide concerns within the workplace.

CALM Training

Reducing access to lethal means (such as firearms and medication) can determine whether a person at risk for suicide lives or dies. This course focuses on how to reduce access to the methods people use to kill themselves. It covers how to: identify people who could benefit from lethal means counseling; ask about their access to lethal methods; and work with them—and their families—to reduce access.

While this 3-hour course is primarily designed for mental health professionals, others who work with people at risk for suicide (like social service professionals and health care providers) may also benefit from taking it.