Lost&Found staff members were among nearly 600 people who attended the South Dakota Suicide Prevention Conference in Sioux Falls on August 1 & 2, a portion of the many people working on suicide prevention in South Dakota.
Attendees were encouraged to hear the latest data, which showed that the number of suicides in South Dakota has declined for the second straight year.
This data was shared by Sec Melissa Magstadt during the S.D. Suicide Prevention Conference on Aug. 1, 2024.
South Dakota has had a statewide suicide prevention task force for five years. This task force, made up mostly of representatives from state agencies, developed a strategic plan that began to be implemented in 2020. Lost&Found is one of the only nonprofits represented on the task force, and its work has been part of the statewide plan.
A strategic statewide focus on suicide prevention, including the collaborative efforts of conference attendees and many others, may be part of the reason South Dakota has been doing better than its neighbors recently.
Lost&Found has played a role in that effort, including lobbying last year to pass House Bill 1079, which provided funding for statewide suicide prevention programming.
South Dakota Department of Health Secretary Melissa Magstadt gave a shout-out to Lost&Found while discussing the progress made through HB1079.
“The (S.D.) Legislature also cares very deeply about this topic and added $2 million of infusion into suicide prevention this past year,” Magstadt said. “So, Lost&Found, we’ve worked with them, and they’ve been great partners of the State of South Dakota, and we are really targeting supporting peer networks and college-aged students. With those two million extra dollars, we were able to look at funding K-12 for peer education and peer support types of activities, and Lost&Found has been a great partner with us. They are fantastic at their work, and we’ve been able to help fund that with support from the Legislature as well.”
Lost&Found CEO/Executive Director Erik Muckey is pleased with the progress.
“I am deeply encouraged by the latest suicide data from the State of South Dakota, showing that overall suicide death is down for a second consecutive year and seeing a rapid decline in youth and young adult suicide (under the age of 29),” Muckey said.
“Though suicide still takes the lives of far too many South Dakotans, this continued progress is a sign of hope for our state and a reflection of collective efforts statewide to invest in and deliver prevention and postvention services.
“I am deeply proud of our team and organization for leading the charge on House Bill 1079—which allocated $2 million for K-12 and post-secondary suicide prevention and postvention programs—and continuing to deliver on that work by providing peer mentorship, data services, and suicide loss survivor programs across the state of South Dakota. With impacts across 13 different institutions of higher education in South Dakota, Lost&Found is living into its ideal of ‘doing more to prevent suicide’ and contributing to the state’s efforts to reduce suicide.
“When we invest in prevention and postvention services, combined with existing efforts to support the Helpline Center’s crisis-focused mission, we can eliminate suicide in South Dakota. This latest round of data is a testament to the progress that has been made, a reminder that more needs to be done, and that the work is not over until no person dies by suicide in our state.”
See a story about the conference by South Dakota Searchlight here.
Haven Kulesa, Carrie Jorgenson, and Whitney Bischoff were among the Lost&Found staff members to attend the South Dakota Suicide Prevention Conference on August 1 & 2, 2024.
Nelson most recently served as Director of Major Gifts at LifeScape Foundation for five years and previously worked in philanthropy roles at Black Hills Works Foundation. Kameron was elected in 2022 to the South Dakota House of Representatives, where he is the Minority Whip and a member of several committees. Raised in Rapid City and a former resident of Minneapolis who now lives in Sioux Falls, Nelson is poised to build connections across South Dakota, Minnesota, and the region as Lost&Found continues in its efforts to “do more” to prevent suicide through its Together We Do More! fundraising campaign.