Second draft- Apr 10th

Seeing The Faces of Mountains and Minds

By A. C. Johnson

From the back porch of the Hope House, one has the opportunity to watch the sunrise

every morning. Some days it comes like the slow painting of a tangerine sun, gracefully planting

pinkish wildflowers across the clouds as snowy hills cling to calmer colors. On other days it’s

gray and cold, hiding any and all warmth. I have lived in Bozeman for four years, and this past

year served as a Crisis Stabilization Worker (CSW) at the Hope House, Western Montana Mental

Health Center’s Bozeman Facility. The number of times I've looked out to colorful mountain

faces only to look back to the tired, cold eyes of another human being–someone trying to

comprehend why they can’t find the right help–is enough to make me question the beauty of a

sunrise.

The function of Hope House is to provide a place where those considering suicide can

find mental stabilization during a time of crisis. This involves providing for immediate needs

such as shelter, food, clothes, a person to talk to, medication services, and assistance in finding

community resources. What it doesn’t do is serve as a long-term treatment facility. The average

stay is four days and the services provided are designed to be stepping-stones before continuing

on to other long-term solutions. One of the valuable resources we do provide is mindfulness

training, where CSWs, like myself, sit down with clients and instruct them on various ways to

practice meditation, journaling, future planning, environmental awareness, and mood

stabilization skills. Being mindful is one of the most important things during a time of crisis.

Often, it’s the exaggeration or overlooking of relevant details that prompts someone to believe
their situation is less manageable than it is. This serves as a great short-term remedy, but with

Montana's current lack of mental health resources, many are unable to find complete recovery.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), in 2021 Montanans were

seven times more likely to be forced out-of-network for mental health care compared to primary

health care, requiring many to drive across states to get the help their loved ones or themselves

needed. 47,000 adults in Montana didn’t receive needed mental health care, and 48.6% of that

population said cost was the reason. 573,811 people in Montana live in communities that lack

mental health professionals. One in 20 people in the U.S. experience a severe mental illness with

44,000 of those people being Montanans. Montana Moves and Montana Meals reported that

additional factors contributing to mental health struggles in Montana are the social isolation

promoted by its geography, the culture of commonplace alcohol use, and the high value of

self-sufficiency and independence. This last dynamic is better understood as the cultural

expectation of being able to take care of yourself and avoiding reliance on others for assistance

around issues regarding personal well-being.

An additional byproduct of Montana's situation that I observe at Hope House is the

presence of regularly re-admitted clients–those who desperately need assistance but don't benefit

from the specific kind of care available. The clients I work with frequently struggle to find

services for individuals under 18, addiction counseling, and/or homelessness. Without these

resources, they continuously relapse into harmful behaviors and are often imprisoned because of

the danger they pose to themselves or society. According to NAMI, about two in five adults in

jail or prison have a history of mental illness, and about seven in 10 youths in the juvenile justice

system suffer a mental health condition. Thus, providing more mental health services is a path to
lowering the number of people engaging in dangerous or illegal behaviors, as well as fighting

stigmas about those with mental health issues being the “rejects” of society.

Some small victories that Montana has won are the approval of Bozeman’s new

psychiatric in-patient unit at Deaconess Hospital, arriving in 2023, along with the recent

mainstreaming of mental health concerns. Due to covid restrictions, adjustments like virtual

meetings enable clinicians to reach more people. In an interview, Doug Fontenot, the Clinical

Site Manager at the Hope House campus, suggested that the struggles Montanans are

experiencing seem to stem more from the “shortage of mental health professionals in Montana,

that is only going to get worse as inflation and the cost of living increases. Simply put, clinicians

cannot afford to live and work in the state of Montana.” He elaborated that if licensing

requirements were more uniform and if clinicians licensed in other states could start immediately

working in Montana without the hassle of expensive exams, more mental health clinicians would

be willing to live and work in Montana.

Actions that average citizens can take include supporting and connecting with legislators

working towards awareness and funding for mental health. This can be done by advancing

conversations about mental health in local circles as well as promoting the conversation in our

larger communities. Once legislators see these critical issues present in the lives of their voters,

they will hopefully respond and represent the voice of the people.

Not everyone sees the faces of those struggling. That’s why Montanans must continue to

raise their voices on the matter, start pursuing jobs in the field, and support the creation of mental

health resources for a wider range of needs. But most importantly, take care of yourselves–and

don’t forget to meditate on those beautiful mountains.

Crisis and Support Lines 24-Hour:

Community Help 211
Hope House (406) 585-1130
National lifeline 1-(800) 273-8255
National Crisis Text Line 741741
Bozeman Help Center (406) 586-3333
MSU VOICE Center (406) 994-7069