Rural Suicide

Amador County residents and social service providers say there’s a serious lack of services and awareness around mental illness in the community. They’re planning to use a special cache of leftover state funding to solve the problem.

Chronic loneliness is a health issue that presents a threat of early death equal to obesity. It can slow down the brain and drive people into deep depression. And it’s a major suicide risk, especially for seniors. One-third of all people who took their lives in Amador County between 2010 and 2017 were over age 60. 

Many young people say they don’t have a healthy way to express feelings of being trapped and misunderstood. And teens who live in remote places are more likely to seek a fatal escape.

"Tough it out" is sort of a mantra in Amador County, a rural community southeast of Sacramento. It has the third-highest suicide rate of any county in California — nearly three times higher than the state average. In this first part of our Rural Suicide project, CapRadio Health Care Reporter Sammy Caiola meets a mother who grapples with suicidal impulses and explores several key factors that are contributing to the crisis.

What if you felt like the walls of your own life were closing in on you, but you were afraid to tell anyone? Or didn’t know where to go for help? It’s happening to lots of people in rural pockets of California, where suicide rates are nearly three times higher than the state average. And very few people are talking about it. That’s why CapRadio health reporter Sammy Caiola has been visiting one small California county for the past six months: to find out why people are killing themselves, and how to stop it. Look for all four episodes next week and learn more at CapRadio.org/RuralSuicide.