Guns and mental health are taboos. They are focus of a Journal Sentinel event May 16.

On a drive from Milwaukee to Wausau last spring, I had lots of time to think about a project I was working on about gun deaths in Wisconsin and the interviews that lie head.

I had found that 71 out of every 100 gun deaths in Wisconsin each year are suicides and a record number of people had taken their lives with firearms in 2022. The state’s rural counties are getting hit hardest, places near Wausau and north. More importantly, I also learned that gun owners were working on solutions.

So I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if we could have an event with gun owners talking to gun owners about these issues? Fast-forward a year and that event is happening.

On May 16, “At the Intersection of Firearms and Mental Health” will be held at the UW Center for Civic Engagement in Wausau. Doors open at 6 and the program begins at 6:30 p.m. It’s free. There will be refreshments, firearms accessory giveaways, and informational tables. The event will also be livestreamed on the Journal Sentinel's website.

The event is sponsored by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism at Marquette University. I did this project as an O’Brien fellow, which sought to frame the issues differently than is typically portrayed in the media.

People interviewed in series, experts to speak at Wausau event

The event will bring together several of the people I spoke to for the Behind the Gun project, including two I interviewed on that April 2023 trip.

Photographer Mike De Sisti and I started with Chuck Lovelace, owner of Essential Shooting Supplies in Park Falls. He spearheaded a program to educate himself and others on the signs of suicide and to take in guns for people who wanted them out of the house for any reason.

Over several hours, Chuck spoke of his love of firearms and his own mental health challenges after serving as a soldier in Afghanistan. He was passionate to be available to other gun owners and to get other gun stores to join the effort, which now has spread to nearly 44 gun stores across Wisconsin.

Back in Wausau, we sat down with Debi Traeder, a longtime educator and a pioneer in suicide prevention in Wisconsin who has been around guns her whole life.

Debi Traeder an advocate for mental health awareness

Here is Debi, in her own words in italics, explaining how she got into the work that has become a life’s passion.

It was almost by accident. I took a job as an outreach person for a mental health unit in our hospital. As I learned more about the needs of people who deal with mental health diagnoses and those who deal with the loss of someone to suicide, the more I thought I had to be involved and be able to help build awareness and reduce stigma that surrounded mental illnesses and getting help!

I first heard Debi’s and Chuck’s names from Jean Papalia, a retired Madison police officer who has dedicated her retirement to this issue. She was the one who pitched the gun shop project, which was going in other states, to Chuck.

I was looking for someone who could speak to suicide prevention, from the central part of Wisconsin. Jean mentioned Debi's name and as soon as I got off, I was dialing her. Debi recalls it well:

I remember when I got the call from you, I was nervous and excited, that a voice of those of us in northern Wisconsin was going to be heard, especially when it comes to firearms and suicide. I didn't want to mess up the chance...lol!

During that interview, my conversation with Debi flowed naturally and I casually mentioned the idea of an event. She jumped at it. It was as if she was mentally creating checklists, who she could invite, the venue, the snacks, even as we sat there.

Debi has been integral to the planning of the event, and she will be speaking that night and so will Chuck.

I want people to come away with the idea that keeping firearms out of reach and safe is no different than keeping poisons and matches away from kids. Make it a common sense thing all around. It's not just for suicide prevention but for family safety. No one on this panel wants guns taken away or outlawed, we just want them stored safely.

Debi and I have talked at length about the focus and tone of the event. We have tried to be thoughtful about who the audience will hear from that night. Following the project, I heard from several gun owners who have responded in a positive way. We thought of that as we formed this event. Debi has reminded me several times, The messenger is important. 

Gun owners will listen to other gun owners, vets will listen to vets, law enforcement will listen to other officers, and so on. There is camaraderie and trust. 

Our goals for the night are simply to start conversations, to make a space for people concerned about this issue and provide the the chance for some people to connect.

For Debi, she said she thinks about the one person who might be changed:

If we can change one mind, storage habit, prevent one suicide, that will make the whole evening worth it.

About this project

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter John Diedrich examined the full extent of gun deaths in Wisconsin during a nine-month O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism at Marquette University.

The project reveals the full picture of gun deaths in the state and tells the stories of people affected by gun deaths and those trying to find solutions.

Diedrich was assisted in the project by Marquette student researchers Alex Rivera Grant and Ben Schultz.

Marquette University and administrators of the program played no role in the reporting, editing or presentation of this project.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Frank conversations about firearms and mental health focus of event