Wabaunsee County leaders are holding a town hall Thursday night about suicide and mental health. This comes after five people died by suicide in Wabaunsee County in 2019.
Wabaunsee County Sheriff Rob Hoskins said he looked back through records and found that the county averaged three to five suicides each year.
“The national average for suicide is 16 per 100,000 people,” said Hoskins. “Wabaunsee County being less than 7,000 people, losing five citizens that puts us a little over 5 times the national average.”
The town hall meeting will include community leaders, school officials, clergy and mental health professionals. Wabaunsee USD 329 Superintendent Brad Starnes says he wants this to be a step toward ending the stigma around mental health.
(Read more: KSNT News)