Shodair Children's Hospital raises awareness around National Suicide Prevention Month

Press release

HELENA — As part of its continued effort to create a healthy and hopeful Montana, Shodair Children’s Hospital has partnered with several businesses and news organizations statewide to offer $10,000 in scholarships through its annual suicide prevention awareness initiative that encourages students to speak up about mental health and suicide prevention.

Shodair is asking middle and high school students to share their message of hope to others around the state who may be struggling with their mental health and battling suicidal thoughts during this pandemic. The children’s hospital will be awarding $10,000 through four categories: written, video, visual and judge’s choice. The theme is: COVID-19 has us all wearing masks, but many of us are wearing a different kind of mask. What kind of mask are you hiding behind and what can we do to help others remove any shame associated with mental illness?

The event coincides with September’s National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month and is a great way to engage Montana’s youth in breaking down stigmas.

“Youth suicide rates in Montana are nearly double the national average and we want to do all we can to change that,” said Craig Aasved, CEO of Shodair Children’s Hospital. “One first step in suicide prevention and breaking down stigma is creating a safe place for conversations and a platform for young people to share their story. This contest is yet another way we are continuing to meet our mission — ‘To heal, help, and inspire hope’ — with the continued help from our stakeholders. Stigmas prevent people from seeking the help they need, so if we can empower Montana’s youth to speak up, then we’ve done our job.”

In 2019, Shodair Children’s Hospital developed this annual scholarship contest to encourage Montana students to come together to fight suicide and the negative stigmas around mental health. Organizations throughout the state have stepped up to support Shodair in this initiative including Montana’s Credit Unions, Ace Hardware, Helena Independent Record, Montana Hospital Association, Montana Office of Public Instruction, Montana Newspaper Association, Montana Office of Public Instruction, Yellowstone Insurance Exchange, 1st Interstate Bank, BCBS Montana, Sullivan Financial Agency, and Beth & Martin Lewis of Wells Fargo Wealth Advisors.

“As mental health concerns rise with the increased need for social distancing during this pandemic, calling on our credit unions to enact the Credit Union Philosophy of ‘People Helping People’ has never felt more important,” said Tracie Kenyon, president and CEO of Montana’s Credit Unions. “Our Montana youth need to know that they are not alone, and we are proud to join Shodair’s efforts to provide hope and uplift our community to fight this epidemic affecting our young people in Montana.”

To be eligible, all participants must be between the ages of 13 and 18 and enrolled in a public school, private school or home school in Montana. Applications must be submitted to http://www.shodair.org by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15. After the entry process closes, each submission will be thoroughly reviewed by a panel and judged based on the level of messaging, how impactful the piece is and the project’s creativity. Scholarship winners will be announced Sunday, Sept. 27.

Submission guidelines:

• Written — Write a message in a 500 or fewer word essay

• Video — Share a message with in a three minute or shorter video in an mp4 format

• Visual — Show a message through the artistic medium of the entrant’s choosing, e.g., sculpture, painting or drawing. For visual entries, people are asked to contact Alana Listoe at 406-444-7561.