Wyoming has the highest per capita suicide rate in the country, and members of the Natrona County Task Force for Suicide Prevention want to bring attention to this serious problem this month.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and the task force is hoping to educate people, because more than 100 suicides have occurred in Natrona County since 1999.

"It's not just to make sure people know it is a problem," said Linda Nelson, chairwoman of the county's task force. "But it's to make sure people know they can make a difference in someone else's life. We want to remove the stigma of mental illness."

Nelson said some Wyoming residents have an attitude of independence and think they need to "cowboy up" to solve their problems themselves.

Suicide is a nationwide problem, with about 30,000 people committing suicide every year, according to the National Mental Health Association's Web site. The suicide rate in Wyoming is about 22 suicides per 100,000 people, which is almost twice the national average.

Jean Davies, another member of the task force, said suicide rates in Wyoming are highbecause access to firearms is great, there are substance abuse problems in the state and people are more isolated in the West.

However, Davies, who's nephew committed suicide two years ago, said the task force has been unable to find an overriding factor in suicides in Wyoming.

She said suicide is an especially big problem on Indian reservations. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death, behind unintentional injury or accidents, for American Indian and Alaskan Native youth aged 15 to 24.

To combat the problem, the task force is sponsoring its second annual "Morning Has Broken" walk this month to raise awareness about suicide prevention. Davies said that last year they were hoping to get 50 people to participate. About 250 people showed up at 6:00 a.m. to offer their support.

Davies said the football teams from both high schools came and people of all ages participated.

"Most of the people who will show up will be someone who has been affected, known someone who has committed suicide," Nelson said.

The "Morning Has Broken" walk will take place Sept. 17 from 6:30 to 9:00 a.m. and start at Crossroads Park. Musicians will perform along the way and a pancake breakfast will be provided at the end of the walk, which Nelson said is about 4 miles.

"We have to do something every year," Nelson said. "If we let our guard down, it could be tragic. There is nothing worse than getting a call Sunday night from school saying we will have to do some intense grief counseling because some kid committed suicide over the weekend."