Provide names of other journalists involved.
Chris Jorgensen, project editor James Woodcock, photographer Lloyd Blunk, videographer James Goossen, page designer
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
The “State of Despair” project is in progress. So far, stories have been published Nov. 25-27; Dec. 5, Dec. 6, Dec. 9-10, Dec. 12 and Dec. 30. 10 stories are attached to this entry. Other stories, all videos and photo galleries are at http://billingsgazette.com/special-section/news/suicide/ If prompted, use this user/password combination: U: contest@billingsgazette.com PW: password
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Some of the same things that make Montana a great place to live — its outdoor life, the stoic independence of its residents, and its rich American Indian culture — also make it a tough place to get sick. Montana is a vast, frontier state with many small towns scattered in rural counties. A few of those counties don’t have a doctor or even a pharmacy. A heart attack on a remote ranch could require a two-hour ambulance ride to the nearest hospital. And, it’s not unusual for residents to make the occasional 500-mile roundtrip to see their family doctor. But, for Montanans suffering with mental health issues, those distances can be especially devastating. Compounding the problem is the state’s severe shortage of psychiatrists. Even if you could get to a city to see a psychiatrist, the wait for a new patient could be nine months to a year. It is against this backdrop that people kill themselves with greater frequency than any other place in the nation and at twice the national average. Montana has had one of the highest suicide rates in the nation for more than three decades and it shows no signs of slowing. The highest rate of suicide in the state is among American Indians, 27.2 per 100,000; followed by Caucasians at 22.2 per 100,000. For 2010-2011, there were 38 American Indian suicides, compared to 410 Caucasian suicides. American Indians make up 7 percent of the Montana population. Until recently, there has been little public conversation about it and little public awareness. All of that changed on Sunday, Nov. 25 when Editor Steve Prosinski devoted an entire front page to the issue with two full, color inside pages, followed by front-page articles on Monday and Tuesday. Since then, The Gazette has kept the issue in front of the public with separate installments on the suicide rate among teens and veterans. The issue has dominated the front pages and our mid-week Health cover. The entire series is packaged in a special section, which can be found on the Gazette’s home page, www.billingsgazette.com. You can read the series by clicking on a link to the project, “State of Despair” on the homepage. The Billings Gazette is the state’s largest newspaper, read by most policymakers. Our goal is to create and shape a statewide conversation about our epidemic.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
We tapped into years’ worth of data from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to discover that Montana has more than three decades worth of history with suicide. We used the same data base to determine the most common methods used to commit suicide and which methods those who killed themselves in the past year used. We also tapped into data bases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to verify state information. The information we have requested to date has been public record and was available with a little time and patience.
Explain types of human sources used.
Human sources incude: — a grieving mother whose 33-year-old son just six months ago used a high-powered rifle to shoot his 3-year-old son in the head then turned the fun on himself. — an Iraq War veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury who tied a parachute cord around his neck. — a 22-year-old who was 16 when he parked his car near his favorite fishing hole and shot himself in the head. The young man is now in a wheelchair and has lost function in both his arms and legs. — a widow whose husband wrote a note, went for a walk and shot himself. — a mental health executive who tied a rope around his neck hoping to die. We also used local, state and national psychiatrists who are considered experts on suicide; leaders of the National Alliance on Mental Illness at both the state and national level; the administrator of the Montana State Hospital; suicide prevention coordinators at the state and national level; the American Association of Suicidology; a psychologist from the Montana State Hospital; U.S. senators; physicians; geriatricians; experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; hospital administrators; leaders of a non-profit organization made up of individuals who are in recovery from mental illness;
Results:
We’ve posted our videos on YouTube and plan to produce an e-book upon completion of the project. The Montana Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness has posted the entire series on its homepage. It has posted each installment on its Facebook page and sends an email blast after each installment is published. The Global Health Equity Fund, which has helped fund a theater production aimed at getting people to talk about depression and suicidal thoughts, has also posted our work on its website. After learning that there is a waiting list for suicidal children to receive mental health services, our publisher, Michael Gulledge, has donated money to Youth Dynamics, a Montana nonprofit serving youth ages 0-18 with behavioral health issues. A lobbyist is working with the Montana Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness to begin lobbying the state Legislature for a psychiatric residency program in the state. We will be sending a letter and early installments of project to state legislators as they consider health care proposals during the 2013 session, which starts Jan. 7. Reporting on Health has published our series on its website. On Nov. 29, four days after The Gazette published its first installment in the suicide series, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., referred to the article on the Senate floor. An emotional Baucus told his Senate colleagues that the stories “hit me in the gut.” The senator was on the floor to discuss the latest initiative Congress has adopted to combat the rising numbers of military suicides.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No follow-ups. No challenges to accuracy of the report. Lots of great feedback.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Suggestions: — Finding the ordinary people whose lives are affected by the issue is key to telling a compelling tale. Hold out for those who have never told their story before. When we started this, we had numerous people who had told their stories eight to 10 years ago surface to retell them. We held out for those whose lives were touched by suicide as recently as six months earlier. It made the series a living, breathing issue. — Record and transcribe all the interviews if you can. It will take time but it will be invaluable. Recorders can catch a nuance that simply taking notes cannot. — Look for ways to extend your project’s reach. — Surround yourself with a videographer, photographer, project editor, copy editor, digital editor and page designer who are willing to invest in the project. I’ve been fortunate to have the same team involved from the get-go. Each is as invested in this effort as I am.