Part of our mission is to bring change. Here is the gap families face when crisis hits, the meetings where youth mental health is decided, and how to speak up, even if you have never done it before.
There is no inpatient psychiatric unit for children or teens in Cheyenne. When a young person needs a hospital level of care, families are sent hundreds of miles away, to Casper or out of state to Colorado and beyond, often after hours or days waiting in the ER for a bed to open. Cheyenne's youth crisis center is a short-term shelter, not psychiatric care. Once crisis hits, there's a huge gap.
Sources: America's Health Rankings (CDC WONDER data, teen suicide 2022–2024); Laramie County Coroner's 2025 annual report as reported by the Wyoming News Exchange; Laramie County Suicide Fatality Review 2023 annual report; Wyoming Department of Family Services (in-state PRTF list; 2020 complex-cases report to the Joint Labor, Health & Social Services Committee); Gillette News Record. Lived experience of Wings of Resilience families.
Schedules come from each body's published meeting rules. Dates can change for holidays or special sessions, so always check the posted agenda before you go.
You don't need to be a policy expert. Lived experience is powerful, and parents are often the voice decision-makers hear least.
Agendas are posted a few days ahead. Decide whether your topic is on the agenda or a "non-agenda" comment, and sign up if it's required.
What one thing do you want them to do? Fund school counselors, support a policy, or add mental health to a future agenda.
Public comment is recorded and often livestreamed. Share what's needed to make your point. You can speak about "families like ours" without names or details.
Leave a copy with the clerk or email it afterward, so your words become part of the record even if time runs short.
“My name is ____, and I live in ____. I'm a parent of a child who has faced mental health challenges, and I'm part of Wings of Resilience, a parent support community in Cheyenne.
When our family needed help, we ran into ____ (for example: long waits, care hours away from home, no school support after a hospital stay).
I'm asking you to ____. Thank you for listening to families like mine.”
Want company? Tell us which meeting you're going to and we'll try to have a Wings parent sit with you. Let us know →
Free help with IEPs, 504 plans and special education rights. A staff member can attend IEP meetings with you to help you advocate for your child.
(307) 684-22771-800-660-9742 (in Wyoming)wpic.org →A no-cost program for youth ages 4–20 with complex behavioral health needs. It brings a support team together around your family to help your child stay safely at home, in school and in the community. Managed by Magellan of Wyoming with Wyoming Medicaid.
About the program →MagellanOfWyoming.com →A statewide family organization offering advocacy and support for families of children with complex behavioral health challenges and other special health care needs.
UpliftWY.org →Wyoming's protection and advocacy organization for the rights of people with disabilities, including mental illness.
(307) 632-3496Education, support groups and statewide advocacy for families affected by mental illness.
(307) 265-2573namiwyoming.com →Not sure where to start, or nervous about speaking up? Bring it to our parent group. We'll help you find the right meeting and the right words.
Join the private group →