{"id":70065,"date":"2025-12-02T16:28:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T21:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/?p=70065"},"modified":"2025-12-03T15:01:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T20:01:42","slug":"suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/","title":{"rendered":"Suicide rate highest in northern Michigan: services are scarce, guns plentiful"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>&nbsp;Michigan has a higher suicide rate than the national average<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&nbsp;Risk of suicide is highest in rural northern Michigan<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&nbsp;A Michigander dies every six hours from suicide<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Northern Michigan\u2019s rural counties have highest suicide rates in the state, in some cases at least double the risk in more populated areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Data released recently by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reveals rising rates of suicide overall in the state, with the highest among Michigan\u2019s middle-aged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 1,500 Michiganders died by suicide in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available. That\u2019s more than died in car crashes or homicides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the majority of those suicides were in the highly populated counties, the rates per 100,000 people were much higher in many of the rural counties north of Clare \u2014 a pattern that reflects <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/rural-health\/php\/public-health-strategy\/suicide-in-rural-america-prevention-strategies.html\">national trends<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michigan\u2019s overall suicide rate in 2023 was 14.9 per 100,000 residents, but for the decade ending in 2023, it was as high as 35.4 in Alcona County, and as low as 9.0 in west Michigan\u2019s Ottawa County, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/mdhhs\/safety-injury-prev\/environmental-health\/injury-and-violence-data\/michigan-injury-indicators-dashboard\">according to state data<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicides-plague-michigan-farms-michigan-just-ended-money-to-help\/\">Suicides plague Michigan farms. Michigan just ended money to help<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/michigan-alarms-grow-over-construction-worker-suicides-more-help-way\/\">In Michigan, alarms grow over construction worker suicides; more help on the way<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/michigan-youth-suicide-rate-doubles-what-parents-can-do\/\"><strong>Michigan youth suicide rate doubles. What parents can do<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Jed Magen, a psychiatrist at Michigan State University who works with the <a href=\"https:\/\/mcrh.msu.edu\/\">Michigan Center for Rural Health<\/a>, said residents of rural Michigan have less access to mental health services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou may have to drive 40 miles away \u2014 that\u2019s nearly impossible\u201d for some people, Magen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also playing a role in increasing rural suicide risk is a lower ability to \u201caccess a social network, which is an important buffer for all kinds of illnesses,\u201d Magen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those kinds of networks can serve as sounding boards for illnesses and provide support or transportation when needed. In rural areas, neighbors may be miles away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Higher poverty rates in rural parts of Michigan also increase suicide risk, both because of potential depression and inability to pay for services, Magen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou can address some of the issues with things like telehealth, but not everyone has good internet access,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also playing a role: rural residents often have <a href=\"https:\/\/hub.jhu.edu\/2017\/08\/17\/high-suicide-rates-guns-rural-communities\/\">greater access to guns<\/a>, which are the means of choice for more than half (56%) of suicides in Michigan.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nationally, there are roughly <a href=\"https:\/\/hub.jhu.edu\/2017\/08\/17\/high-suicide-rates-guns-rural-communities\/\">twice as many suicides by firearm as homicides by firearm<\/a>. Those trends were cited last month by a task force convened by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/mdhhs\/-\/media\/Project\/Websites\/mdhhs\/Inside-MDHHS\/Newsroom\/Michigan-Gun-Violence-Prevention-Task-Force.pdf\">gun safety that recommended increased funding<\/a> for suicide prevention iniatives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>State figures show Michigan\u2019s suicide rate has inched upward in the past decade, from 13.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2014 to 14.9 in 2023. That\u2019s slightly above the national rate of 14.1<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michigan residents employed in material moving had the highest rate of suicide in 2023, at 89 per 100,000. People in the construction industry often deal with<a href=\"https:\/\/alabamareflector.com\/2023\/09\/26\/behind-the-hardhats-high-suicide-rates-plague-the-construction-industry\/\"> seasonal work and frequent layoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Farming, fishing and forestry had the second-highest rate, at 84.5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The most likely age group to die by suicide was age 25-34 (21.8) and 35-44 (21.7)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For men alone, the highest risk of suicide was after the age of 75 (38.2 per 100,000); for women, it\u2019s age 45-54 (10.0)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>For help<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Help is available for those considering suicide or worried about a family member or friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dial 988 for assistance or go to <a href=\"https:\/\/988lifeline.org\/chat\/?_ga=2.114223623.1648100838.1659371461-453909216.1657912403\"><strong>Lifeline Chat : Lifeline (988lifeline.org)<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&nbsp;&nbsp;Farm families looking for suicide prevention help can fill out a form<a href=\"https:\/\/www.canr.msu.edu\/managing_farm_stress\/teletherapy-program\"> here<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A list of local suicide prevention crisis lines is available <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/mdhhs\/safety-injury-prev\/injuryprevention\/programs\/suicide-prevention-a\/suicide-prevention\/coalitions-and-crisis-lines\">here<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Farm families can contact Remington Rice, a Michigan State University Extension community behavioral health educator, at (231) 882-0026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More people die by suicide than in car crashes or homicides. Deaths are rising, and rural areas have higher rates because of isolation and access to care and firearms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1804,"featured_media":70087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-12-02T21:28:17Z","apple_news_api_id":"511e49d1-852b-467e-9fcc-76e4602d3dae","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-12-03T20:01:48Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AUR5J0YUrRn6fzHbkYC09rg","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[2446],"tags":[62],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2459],"class_list":["post-70065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-michigan-health-watch","tag-rural-michigan","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Suicide rate highest in northern Michigan: services are scarce, guns plentiful - Bridge Michigan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Suicide rate highest in northern Michigan: services are scarce, guns plentiful - Bridge Michigan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"More people die by suicide than in car crashes or homicides. Deaths are rising, and rural areas have higher rates because of isolation and access to care and firearms.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bridge Michigan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BridgeMichigan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T21:28:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T20:01:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Generic-farm-03-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1435\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ron French\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bridgemichigan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bridgemichigan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ron French\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ron French\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b25b21e38c04f81380abb854d94705ac\"},\"headline\":\"Suicide rate highest in northern Michigan: services are scarce, guns plentiful\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T21:28:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T20:01:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/\"},\"wordCount\":609,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Generic-farm-03-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1435&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Rural Michigan\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Michigan Health Watch\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/\",\"name\":\"Suicide rate highest in northern Michigan: services are scarce, guns plentiful - Bridge Michigan\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Generic-farm-03-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1435&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T21:28:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T20:01:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-health-watch\/suicide-rate-highest-in-northern-michigan-services-are-scarce-guns-plentiful\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Generic-farm-03-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1435&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Generic-farm-03-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1435&ssl=1\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1435,\"caption\":\"A scarcity of mental health services plays a role in Michigan\u2019s rural areas having higher rates of suicide. 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Ron came to Bridge in 2011 from The Detroit News, where he was a project reporter. Born and raised in Indiana, Ron graduated from Purdue University. He reported for newspapers across Indiana before moving to Michigan in 1995. Ron lives in Okemos, and like the true Michigander he\u2019s become, he now has a family cabin Up North. 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