Wyoming Education Association

Winter 2019

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22 | WEAnews "I just started thinking," said Director of Student Success at Central Wyoming College Lance Goede, "what else I can do in my community to spread some positive energy?" Goede's answer? A podcast. Lance Goede is a professional, award-winning counselor. He works with students in a variety of capacities at Central Wyoming College, and now he's reaching an audience throughout Fremont County and beyond through his new Podcast, Positively Mental. As a whole, Wyoming lacks in mental health resources systemwide, Goede shared with WEA News. "Whether it's school districts, whether it's higher ed, whether it's the community, anywhere you go in Wyoming, one of the challenges is accessing good health services and mental health services has a tendency to be the least available." Positively Mental tackles tough topics like veterans' mental health and suicide prevention. "It's especially of concern in Fremont County," said Goede, "Fremont County is typically close to—if not always at the top of—suicide numbers and Wyoming is anywhere from first to third in the nation. It's related to a lack of services." As Wyoming continues to combat staggeringly high suicide rates, Goede wants listeners to know that conversation and attention to detail are crucial. "It's OK to talk about it. There's sometimes a stigma about it in that talking about suicide will cause more incidents of suicide. That's been proven by research to be false. The more we talk about it, the more the risk goes down." Goede also contends that simple attentiveness can help with intervention for at-risk children and young adults. "Change is typically a red flag, and struggling children don't necessarily like to have these tough conversations, but they need to have them—driven by the adults who are paying attention." Goede also points out that—while there are mental health services available in every community in Wyoming and telehealth is improving access to mental health resources—adequate staffing of mental health professionals stands in the way of Wyoming students consistently receiving sufficient care. "Making sure that there is adequate staffing available is first and foremost," said Goede. "When you're in school eight hours each day, it's basically a student's job to be at school, and that's where the services should be most available." Goede is enthusiastic about bringing information on mental health issues to podcast listeners. "My goal with Positively Mental is to deep-dive into mental health subjects and make them interesting and accessible for the typical person who wants to know more." Listen to Positively Mental on the 10Cast Network at 10cast.county10.com. Positively Mental: This WEA Member's Podcast is Making Mental Health Information More Accessible Across Wyoming Lance Geode I am a WEA member because I'm a firm believer in having people behind you. As a group, we're louder than one. WEA is the most significant lobbying and advocacy organization for educators in Wyoming—so whether you're in K-12 or post- secondary like myself—it seems like a natural thing to do; get more people to stand with you.

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