BOOST's Bites for Bravery supports local suicide prevention efforts

This past weekend, the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce BOOST Leadership Academy kicked off their Bites for Bravery suicide awareness campaign. According to BOOST officials, the motivation behind the project is to "Boost" awareness and understanding about suicide prevention, with a special focus on middle-aged men.

Bites for Bravery was able to collect over 2,000 bags of jerky to distribute to 38 workplaces across Sweetwater County to raise awareness. Some of the recipients include local fire departments, the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office, Exxon, Western Wyoming Beverage, many of the trona mines, and both Green River and Rock Springs High Schools. The Boost Academy plans to deliver the bags beginning in April.

Dustin Conover, President of the BOOST Academy, explained that they partnered with the Sweetwater County Prevention Coalition that works with suicide prevention.

"The Coalition explained that the target, and very vulnerable audience, was middle aged men," he said. "The Coalition informed us that in 2024, 77% of suicides in Sweetwater County were middle aged men, the average age of 45."

The BOOST Academy was reimagined after the original leadership academy through the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce. According to Kayla Mannikko, Vice President of the BOOST Academy, the "reboot" started in September 2024. The BOOST Academy consists of 20 volunteers who are leaders from all all-different companies and industries throughout Sweetwater County and beyond.

Kimberly Cramer, Historian of the BOOST Academy, said, "We just brainstormed with the goal of having the leadership academy do a community service event. We quickly realized that suicide in Sweetwater County was a topic that we all are really concerned about."

In researching further, BOOST Academy found a resource called Man Therapy. Mantherapy.org is a website with guided prompts that aims at removing the stigma associated with mental health and men. According to their website Man Therapy started as a suicide prevention campaign that has now morphed into a men's mental health campaign as well. It is a comprehensive upstream approach and meets men where they are.

Mannikko said, "This was a resource where middle-aged men are able to access help without feeling that stigma." Cramer added, "The website has these great head checks. You can go to the website, it says, 'take our head check,' and then there is an evaluation, and it lets you know if you might need some resources."

The BOOST Academy said they would like to thank their sponsors and supporters, especially Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, Western Wyoming Community College, Kelly's Convenient Center, Amber Kramer Insurance Agent, and all their 2025 BOOST Leaders.