Fostering connections boosts elders’ physical as well as mental health.
The Montana Gap
Look at statewide numbers and Montana’s economy seems to be doing well. Between 2000 and 2015, the number of jobs in the state of Montana grew 20 percent, according to a report released last year by Headwaters Economics. Personal income grew, as did statewide employment.
If you live outside a city, though, there’s a good chance you won’t see much evidence of that growth. In small towns, contracting economies, shrinking population and social issues including a lack of mental health services offer mounting challenges. For a year, a group of journalists from western Montana, supported by High Country News and the Solutions Journalism Network, have investigated what Montana communities are doing to be resilient to change, from economic shifts to mental health. This project is funded by the LOR Foundation.
Small towns under the Big Sky address challenges to secure their future, as centers boom.
A Montana clinic’s telemedicine network helps far-away patients receive care.
A Swedish program takes root in Montana classrooms.
An assembly acknowledges elementary students’ pain and teaches them to speak up.
Harrowing experiences can spark health issues and substance abuse into adulthood.
Montana’s arms dealers could learn from a model in New Hampshire.
A network of local providers steps in as vital mental health centers close.
In 2016, when Jack Pierre ended his life, Montana’s suicide rate led the nation.
Community health programs are thriving in Haiti, Montana and the Navajo Nation.
Patients with developmental disabilities and mental illness fall through the state’s health care gaps.
In Montana, middle-schoolers are learning the importance of resiliency and support.
‘Students have decided that to make change, we need to be the change.’
Training peers to recognize risks and warning signs can help prevent suicide.
A dearth of professional help leaves small-town residents seeking help from one another.
Peer support from the recently recovered helps those in active addiction.
As the state’s mental health system faces an uncertain future, experts encourage crisis prevention.
The Colorado city’s unwieldy expansion offers a cautionary tale for similar Western locales.
Belgrade, Montana, is growing just enough to assert an identity separate of its adjacent city.
Manhattan, Montana, has become a bedroom community with full schools but few businesses.
Three Forks has weathered much. Facing new pressures, can it stay in control?
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