Nationally, deaths from suicide, drugs and alcohol are declining. But in Iowa, they're rising.
On this episode, we ask why these deaths are rising. First, we hear from Lauren Williams, an Iowa woman who lost her brother to suicide, and from Kayla Mayer of Cherokee County Public Health, who's working to decrease the local rate of suicide with the county's suicide prevention coalition.
We also talk with Daniel Wheaton of the Midwest Newsroom and Dr. Alison Lynch of the University of Iowa on why our state is seeing more deaths of despair and what can be done about it.
Guests:
- Lauren Williams, nurse and podcast host, Let’s Sit Crooked & Talk Straight
- Kayla Mayer, public health manager, Cherokee County Public Health
- Daniel Wheaton, senior data journalist, Midwest Newsroom
- Dr. Alison Lynch, clinical professor of psychiatry and director of addiction medicine, University of Iowa Health Care
