For many of us, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. For others – whether family, friends or neighbors – holiday celebrations like Christmas are anything but joyful.

My close friend Kara Rowland, a recent visitor to Flathead Valley, is vice president of communications for Mental Health America, a national nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. dedicated to awareness, education and prevention in matters of mental health.

She knows all too well the competing beauty and pain of Montana, especially because we lead the nation in suicide mortality.

Now there are some other eye-opening (read grim) statistics that Rowland passes on to me, taken from her organization’s recently released 2024 report on “The State of Mental Health in America.”

Among the key findings: About one in four American adults (23%) have suffered from a “mental illness” in the past year, while one in five young people have had at least one “major depressive episode” ( MDE).

Montana unfortunately ranks 49th in its mental health status, just short of being the worst in the country.

Predictors of this unenviable ranking are Montana’s “adults with mental illness” (more than 27 percent of our state’s population, ranking 46th nationally), Montana’s “adults with serious suicidal thoughts” (over 6 percent, or 48th), and Montana “young people with serious suicidal thoughts” (15 percent, ranking 48th).

Using these indicators, Montana ranks 50th in the nation on issues related to “adult mental health,” and 42nd for our “youth.”

And when you combine the two age groups for the “prevalence of mental illness” category, Montana takes another hit, ranking 48th in the nation.

Meanwhile, more than 10,000 Montana “kids” ages 12 to 17 suffer from “depression.” Unfortunately, more than half in five young people who experienced a major MDE in the last twelve months received no treatment.

Of the 163,000 “adults” in Montana currently suffering from mental health issues, 47,000 no longer have access to “necessary” mental health care.

A frequently heard complaint over the years is the lack of access to mental health care in Montana, particularly in large rural areas (Montana currently ranks 30th in access to such care, the situation could therefore be worse). Yet, thanks in part to several local Flathead leaders, significant improvements are on the horizon.

Last September, the Montana Legislature’s nine-member Behavioral Health System for Future Generations Commission, chaired by Republican Rep. Bob Keenan of Bigfork, and joined locally by Democratic Rep. (and soon-to-be Senator) Dave Fern of Whitefish and the CEO of Flathead Industries. Patrick Maddison – released his highly anticipated final report, as required by House Bill 872 signed in May 2023 by Montana Governor Greg Gianforte.

Appropriated at $300 million (and it may not be over, at least that’s what the media reported last week), the commission’s 22 recommendations and 11 short-term initiatives include creating a comprehensive statewide mental health crisis system, investing in state-run and state-run health care facilities. , expanding the capacity of adult and child behavioral health service delivery systems and improving support for families and caregivers.

“These priorities constituted our ‘North Star’ and are strategically integrated into the recommendations of our final report,” Keenan and his colleagues wrote in their 75-page report.

Of note, the Montana Governor’s Office continues to offer residents a “mental health ombudsman,” which provides quick links to public mental health services across the state (visit mhombudsman.mt.gov) .

Mental Health America of Montana, also the state affiliate of my friend Kara’s national organization, helps coordinate a network of mental health facilities and resources across Montana, including here in Flathead (visit mhaofmt.org or call its “Montana Warmline” day or night at 877-688-3377).

We wish the tens of thousands of Montanans who are suffering this holiday season and beyond the happiest Christmas possible, filled with the love and support of family, friends and neighbors.

Especially during this season, I make an effort to respect the powerful words of the late John Prine, one of my favorite singer-songwriters taken too soon by covid:

So if you walk down the street one day

And spot old, hollow eyes

Please don’t just pass them by and watch them

Like you don’t care

Say: “Hello, hello”

John McCaslin is a longtime journalist and author who lives in Bigfork.