Thread by @TexasObserver

1/ “They’re not taking the suicides seriously.”

Rural East Texas has some of the highest suicide rates in the state. But the safety net for people who need help is being stretched thin, and some Texans are falling through. texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

2/ @collins_reports spent more than a year examining the problem. The investigation found that as suicide has quietly gripped many communities here, the state’s mental health care system is being stretched well past its limit. texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

@collins_reports 3/ In Gregg County alone, 335 people died by suicide from 1999 to 2017, according to the most recent federal data. The county had a suicide rate of 15 deaths per 100,000 people in that time period, compared to the average state rate of 11.4. texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

@collins_reports 4/ Suicide rates across Texas have been climbing since 2000, when the rate was 10.2 per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By 2017, the rate had risen to 13.4. texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

5/ A handful of community activists are trying to address the complex web of social, economic and health problems behind suicide. But the state is not investing any money into investigating the roots of the crisis in rural Texas.
texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

6/ State law requires that either a medical examiner or a justice of the peace, who generally do not have a medical degree, investigate “unattended” deaths.

Only the 13 most-populous counties in the state have medical examiners. texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

7/ “We’re not thinking, ‘Why’d you do this?’”

Even though JPs — elected officials whose duties also include trying truancy cases and officiating marriages — rarely have medical training, state law gives them enormous leeway in investigating deaths.
texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

8/ The state has been slow to act on its own official suicide prevention plan — and in some cases, it has failed to follow recommendations at all. texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

9/ A health commission spokesperson attributed the failure to the federal grant money drying up. State legislators haven’t stepped up to fill the gaps left by dwindling grants — Texas ranks next to last in mental health spending per capita in the nation. texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

10/ “[The voices] were telling me I was worthless.”

Keilan Banks is perpetually caught between two worlds — one, many of us would call the “real world,” and the other a dark place only he sees where disembodied voices urge him to hurt himself. texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

11/ After he gets his associate’s degree this summer, Banks plans to shelve his college career — he wants to be a professional artist some day — and go to work full-time at Walmart.

One of the chief reasons is to get health insurance.
texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

12/ The lack of health insurance has long been a deterrent for Banks.

“They always ask if you have insurance,” he said. “Thing was, in spite of my having a job and everything, I didn’t have enough [money] for insurance.” texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

13/ Banks has taken advantage of almost all the services available to an uninsured, mentally ill young man in East Texas, but that is often not enough. Organizations that are willing to help are usually underfunded or understaffed. texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

14/ “A lot of times people get discharged from the hospital and straight into the community and don’t have that support there,” @DavidLakey_MD said. “The current mental health system is ineffective because of the structural design.” texasobserver.org/warning-signs/

@DavidLakey_MD 15/ Banks has begun exploring writing — he's working on a book he hopes will carry a message for readers who struggle with mental illness:

“It’s gonna let you know that even if you’re going through this, it’s gonna get better. You’re gonna get out of it.”
texasobserver.org/warning-signs/