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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-21-26 Correspondence - Disability Rights Montana - Growth Rings - Suicide Prevention Can’t Start 4 Minutes Before an AttemptFrom:Disability Rights Montana - Growth Rings To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]Suicide Prevention Can’t Start 4 Minutes Before an Attempt Date:Monday, September 21, 2026 7:33:46 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Every paid subscription supports Disability Rights Montana’s work across Montana. Federal funding is nowhere near sufficient to meet the advocacy and culture change work that is needed. You can help fund the future you want to see! Suicide Prevention Can’t Start 4Minutes Before an Attempt In this jam packed issue: 1) how to do policy advocacy; 2) reflections onmental Health policy; 3) join us in transportation advocacy; and 4) severaldisability related job opportunities READ IN APP SEP 21 If you want to influence policies that impact your life, one great place to start is by attending one of two free trainings being offered this week! In the ongoing series we have been working on with our partners in the Collective Disruption coalition, we are excited to bring you: Session 2: Navigating the Legislature with Catalyst MT: Discover how Montanan’s legislative process works and practical ways to influence public policy. Sep 24, 2026 06:00 PM Mountain Time Sep 25, 2026 11:00 AM Mountain Time You don’t need to attend both, it is a single training, offered at two different times in order to accommodate varying schedules. So please register for the one that works for you and level-up you policy advocacy skills! Public Policy Training We Need to Give Ourselves MoreThan 4 Minutes Famous Montana resident Justin Timberlake and his buddies Madonna and Timbaland only had 4 minutes to save the world. (Looking around at what’s happened in the last 16 years since the song came out, I don’t know that whatever they did worked. But the song is still a banger.) But seriously, what could anyone do in four minutes that could have a meaningful impact on the world, on an individual even? Yet, that’s how we approach mental health. We would never frame heart disease prevention as what happens four minutes before a heart attack. But that’s usually how we approach suicide prevention. “Here are the immediate steps to take once someone tells you they are suicidal…” I think that needs to change. Last week, I wrote about my father’s mental illness, and the lessons his life taught me about disability, belonging, and community. One of those lessons fundamentally changed how I think about suicide prevention. What My Father’s Suicide Taught MeAbout Mental Health Policy DAVID CARLSON ·SEP 14 My father’s death did not begin with the crisis that ultimately took his life. It unfolded over decades, in the context of housing, employment, relationships, self-worth, community, access to support, and countless ordinary days that never appeared in a crisis response plan. That realization has stayed with me for years. Every September, we talk about crisis lines, emergency interventions, hospitalization, and warning signs. Those conversations matter. Lives depend on them. But Montana continues to have one of the highest suicide rates in the nation. If we are serious about saving the lives of Montanans, we have to ask a harder question: Why are so many Montanans reaching crisis in the first place? The more time I spend working in disability rights and behavioral health policy, the more convinced I become that our public conversation about suicide is incomplete. When people ask why I care so much about mental health policy, disability rights, housing, and community-based services, I usually give a professional answer. I talk about my decades working in disability rights advocacy. I talk about public policy, service systems, civil rights, and the importance of helping people remain in their communities. Read full story When people discuss mental health, they often focus on what should happen after someone reaches a crisis. We debate forced treatment, hospitalization, emergency rooms, jail beds, court orders, and crisis response systems. By the time those conversations begin, someone is already very sick. Sick enough that we are worried they may die from suicide. Of course we need crisis response. People need help when they are in immediate danger. But if all our attention is focused on what happens after a crisis begins, we are asking the wrong question. The goal cannot simply be to respond to despair more effectively. The goal has to be fewer people reaching despair in the first place. The good news is that the evidence points to solutions that are neither mysterious nor controversial. We know quite a bit about what protects people from suicide. People are less likely to reach crisis when they feel connected, supported, valued, and needed. They are less likely to reach crisis when they have meaningful relationships, stable housing, access to care, supportive families, economic opportunity, and a genuine sense that they belong. That last word matters. Belong. All summer, I have been writing about the need to asks a simple question: Do disabled people belong in our communities? I believe suicide prevention begins with the same question. In other words, suicide prevention does not begin in a crisis center, an emergency room, a jail, or a state psychiatric hospital. It begins in communities. It begins when people can find mental health services before they reach a breaking point. It begins when families can get help before exhaustion turns into despair. It begins when people remain connected to work, school, housing, friends, faith communities, and activities that give their lives meaning. This is especially important in Montana. In many communities, people drive hours for specialty care. Families encounter long waits, transportation barriers, workforce shortages, insurance complications, and fragmented systems. Sometimes the hardest part isn’t convincing someone to get help, it’s finding the help in the first place. Too often, people fall through the cracks long before they ever interact with a crisis system. By the time help arrives, the crisis has already taken hold. One of the most promising developments in mental health care over the past two decades has been the growing recognition of peer support. Peer support specialists are people who have experienced mental illness, addiction, or recovery themselves and use that lived experience to help others navigate similar challenges. Peer support may sound simple, but its impact is profound. Research has found that peer support can improve engagement with services, reduce hospitalization, decrease re-hospitalization, and help people remain connected to recovery-oriented supports in their communities. And the reason is not difficult to understand. People are often more willing to trust someone who has actually been there. Looking back, I often think about how important it is to encounter someone who understands your struggles without requiring a lengthy explanation without having to remind them you are a human, not a problem. That is one reason peer support matters so much. Family members, spouses, and friends can provide extraordinary support. But sometimes the most persuasive person is someone who has walked the same road. Hope is simply more believable when it comes from someone who has lived through hopelessness. That insight points toward a broader truth I have learned during my years advocating for better disability and behavioral health systems. When we begin with the assumption that people belong, our policy choices become clearer. We stop asking only how to manage people in crisis. We start asking how to help people remain connected to the things that make life meaningful. We stop measuring success solely by our response to emergencies. We start measuring success by how many emergencies never occur. That shift changes everything. It means investing in community-based mental health services. It means investing in peer support. It means investing in affordable housing, transportation, supported employment, and the practical supports that help people stay connected to their communities. Most importantly, it means making those supports available before people reach a breaking point. That seems like a better goal. This Suicide Prevention Month, Montana should absolutely continue investing in crisis response. Lives depend on it every day. But we should remember something equally important - as I wrote last week, every person’s life is bigger than the worst thing that has ever happened to them. I believe that. I also believe our mental health systems should reflect that belief. We need mental health services that: do not exist solely to respond to someone’s worst day; helps people build better days long before a crisis occurs; strengthens communities; supports connection; and ensures people can find help before they are standing at the edge of despair. Suicide prevention cannot start five minutes before an attempt. It starts years earlier. It starts with belonging. It starts today. When we talk about disability rights, we often think about access to life sustaining Transportation Is Access care like the services described above or in home care for people with intellectual or physical disabilities, or we focus on accommodations, accessible entrances, or parking spaces. But transportation may be one of the most overlooked accessibility issues of all. If you can’t get where you need to go, opportunities quickly become harder to reach. That’s why I’ll be participating in Week Without Driving, October 1-8. I invite you to join me in exploring how transportation affects employment, healthcare, civic engagement, and community belonging for people with disabilities across Montana and beyond. sign up now! At a time when so many people feel disconnected from public service, there are still careers that offer something rare: the opportunity to improve lives, strengthen communities, and create lasting change. Right now, three organizations serving Montanans are looking for talented, mission-driven professionals to join their teams. Whether you’re an attorney looking for meaningful public interest work or a professional interested in improving the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, I hope you’ll take a look, share these opportunities, and help us connect with the right candidates. The Montana Board of Visitors plays an important role in safeguarding the rights and wellbeing of people receiving services within Montana’s public behavioral health and developmental disability systems. This work matters. Montana Needs People Who Want toMake a Difference Opportunity #1: Join Montana’s Board of Visitors People receiving services in state-operated facilities deserve independent oversight, accountability, and advocates who care about ensuring their voices are heard. The Board of Visitors helps provide that oversight and serves as an important bridge between Montanans, state agencies, and the communities they serve. If you are passionate about public service, systems improvement, and protecting vulnerable individuals, I encourage you to learn more and apply. Job Posting: https://mtstatejobs.taleo.net/careersection/200/jobdetail.ftl? job=26142300 Opportunity #2 and #3: Civil Rights Attorneys atDisability Rights Montana Most legal jobs operate inside systems. These jobs help transform them. Disability Rights Montana is currently hiring two Civil Rights Attorneys to help protect and advance the rights of disabled people across the state. The positions are based in Helena or Billings, with hybrid work options available. The salary range is $90,500-$115,000 depending on experience. As Montana’s federally designated Protection and Advocacy organization, Disability Rights Montana investigates abuse and neglect, monitors government systems, litigates high-impact cases, and works to create lasting systemic change for disabled Montanans. This is not traditional legal practice. Our attorneys investigate institutions, uncover systemic problems, build creative advocacy strategies, collaborate with national experts, and pursue litigation that can improve life for thousands of people. We’re looking for attorneys who are: Strategic thinkers Strong writers Curious learners Motivated by justice Interested in solving root causes rather than simply responding to individual cases Excited to grow as advocates and leaders Whether you’re coming from legal aid, public defense, government practice, private practice, civil rights litigation, or another legal field, we’d love to hear from you. Learn More and Apply: Growth Rings Civil Rights Attorney Read more 12 days ago · 1 like The best candidates often find opportunities through personal connections rather than job boards. If you know someone who might be a good fit for any of these positions, please forward this email, share it on social media, or reach out to them directly. Montana’s future depends on talented people who are willing to serve, advocate, investigate, solve problems, and help build stronger communities. Let’s find them. Thank you for helping connect great people with meaningful work. In solidarity, David Carlson, J.D. Executive Director Disability Rights Montana You’re currently a free subscriber to Life Beyond Compliance. Upgrading to paid subscriptions supports Disability Rights Montana’s work across Montana. Federal funding is no where near sufficient to meet the advocacy and culture change work that is needed. You can help fund the future you want to see! 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