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Churchill County unveils 2024 Behavioral Health and Suicide Prevention plan; Turning Point outlines three priorities
Summary
Consultants from Turning Point presented a countywide suicide prevention plan calling for strengthened agency collaboration, wider community communication about mental health, and a fully resourced service system; Turning Point and county staff outlined next steps and working groups.
Turning Point consultants presented the Churchill County Behavioral Health and Suicide Prevention Plan 2024 to the Board of County Commissioners, saying the plan focuses on prevention, intervention and postvention and recommends three priorities for the next five years.
Shannon Ernst, Churchill County Social Services, said the county sought outside help after local leaders raised concerns about an increase in suicidal ideation and attempts. "We were talking about, really, the increase of suicide ideations and attempts within our community," Ernst said, and described a funding mix of county, school district and state Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH) resources used to contract Turning Point.
Jennifer McClendon of Turning Point, the consultant team, described the methods used to draft the plan: interviews with local leaders, focus groups with service providers, court and school personnel, and three open community convenings. "We conducted interviews with key partners ... focus groups with service providers, court personnel, school personnel," McClendon said, describing a review that identified gaps in access to care and repeated system contact for some residents.
Turning Point identified three priorities: agency collaboration and resource mapping; open community communication and stigma reduction; and building a fully resourced system to meet needs, including workforce development and crisis planning. McClendon said the county has strengths to build on, including active community volunteers, faith-based groups and new initiatives such as the FAST program and school-based Hope Squad.
The consultants recommended concrete steps for 2025: standing priority committees that will focus on mapping current services and gaps, workforce development, crisis plan development and tabletop exercises, and expanded community education and support. Ernst said Turning Point has stepped back to allow a regional Behavioral Health Task Force to lead the work and that working groups have already begun meeting in December. "Since we started meeting in December, we've already brought in a new resource ... a psychiatric provider that will begin February 28 and be at the Life Center and do walk-ins via telehealth," Ernst said.
County staff said they will distribute the plan to state legislators and other partners; they also announced a local Mental Health Awareness Day set for May 14 with classes for parents and older adults. Gabby Stone, the county behavioral health caseworker, was identified as the staff lead for working groups.
Turning Point and county staff acknowledged gaps that need attention: an insufficient number of licensed clinical social workers and psychiatrists, a need for a formalized crisis response plan (who communicates what and when), and sustainable funding and workforce strategies. McClendon said, "We developed some month by month action plans for 2025" and urged ongoing community engagement.
The presentation closed with an invitation for residents to join the priority groups; county staff said they will carry the plan forward and report back as working groups develop specific implementation steps.
