If you or someone you know is suffering from a mental health crisis, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
CLARENCE, Mo. (WGEM) – Nationwide, suicide deaths are at an all-time high, more than doubling since 2000. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there were 29,350 suicide deaths in 2000, rising to 49,746 in 2022. Decrease to 1 death every 11 minutes.
Similarly, in 2022, 2 million more Americans will attempt suicide and 3.8 million more will make plans. The national death rate per 100,000 people also increased to 14.2.
Shelby County, Missouri
In 2022, Missouri will be in the top 15 for suicide deaths per 100,000 people.
On a more local scale, the same problem has quietly grown at an alarming rate over the past decade or so. Since 2010, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reports that 21 Shelby County, Missouri residents have lost their lives to suicide.
Six of the cases occurred between 2022 and 2024.
Shelby County has approximately 6,000 residents, and each town has its own small-town American feel. This county is mostly occupied by agriculture. The vast majority of all farms in Shelby County are designated as “Century Farms” by the University of Missouri Extension. This means the farm has been run by the same family for over 100 years.
Lily White, a local therapist and social worker, said the agriculture industry is where most suicides occur.
shelby county cares
White has lived in Shelby County for more than 10 years. Her husband is a farmer, and her family also has a sense of meaning in running a farm for 100 years.
She initially began her professional career as a social worker, but a tragic experience while working in a school for special education students changed her trajectory.
“I had an eighth-grade student who chose to commit suicide. That was my first experience of losing a life by suicide,” White said.
White is currently the only therapist at Shelby County Cares, Shelby County’s only mental health facility, which opened in 2023. The organization was born out of a $1.1 million grant from the Missouri Health Foundation that will allow White and co-director Jorie Foreman to conduct research. Possible link between gun suicide and agricultural workers.
“We are a very small community, so each life lost affects all of us,” Foreman said.
Foreman’s husband is also a farmer in Shelby County. She said her husband has lost several relatives to suicide over the past 15 years.
So far, they said, their research has shown that farmers’ motivation for suicide is related to external factors that are beyond their control.
“You can’t control the weather, you can’t control the market, you can’t control prices,” White said.
White also believes that attempts to cope with severe stress alone may also be contributing to the statistics.
Foreman describes their research as “ground work.” She said she was speaking with affected families, spouses and the farmers themselves.
kids and teens
While the grant focuses on the connection between suicide and agriculture, White said she sees another trend.
“What we’re seeing now in our youth population over the last few months is that multiple youth are attempting to take their own lives,” White said.
On Friday, White and Foreman visited the local Shelby County School District to see what kind of support systems are in place.
Suicides among people under 18 increased by more than 30% from 2012 to 2022, with 66% of those deaths involving guns, according to a report from the Missouri State Medical Association.
The grant officially took effect last November, but White has been working at the organization’s facility at 100 W. Maple Street in Clarence since April. The building is the old city hall.
It’s still a work in progress, as White and other leaders are making modifications and making some changes to make it a full-fledged mental health facility. Shelby County Cares is already working with local businesses, faith-based agencies and congregations to host mental health first aid training sessions.
White is also currently accepting customers on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
They hosted an awareness walk earlier this month and had over 100 participants.
Shelby County Cares is one of eight organizations in Missouri to be part of the Suicide Firearms Prevention Grant. The grant is valid for four years.
Shelby County Cares can be reached by calling 573-494-2280 or by email at shelbycountycares@gmail.com.
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