Gallatin County, philanthropic foundations have raised $2.5 million
EBS STAFF
Lighthouse Ranch, a regional project designed to prevent teen suicide, is more than one-third funded thanks to large contributions of $1.5 million from Gallatin County, $550,000 from Bozeman Health, $300,000 from Yellowstone Club Community Foundation, and between $50,000 and $100,000 each from private family foundations.
The project is being led by Bozeman nonprofit Human Resource Development Council, Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, Gallatin County, and the Gallatin Behavioral Health Coalition. With $2.5 million now raised, an HRDC press release announced that the $6.5 fundraising total will be used to purchase, renovate and provide mental health crisis services to teens and their families on a 30-acre ranch near Bozeman.
The release noted that the project sponsors “need the community to help close the [funding] gap,” adding that Montana continues to lead the nation in youth suicide while Bozeman citizens suffer “a glaring lack of age appropriate solutions” within 150 miles.
“In Gallatin County, 14% of teens reported attempting suicide in the past year, and 21% seriously considered it,” the release stated. “In 2023, Bozeman Health’s emergency department treated 267 youth for mental or behavioral health crises, while the Help Center received more than 170 youth-in-crisis calls, roughly 75% of which involved suicidal ideation.”
The Lighthouse Ranch project will seek to address the “glaring” issue by providing professional resources and confidential help for teens and families in Gallatin County.
If funding comes together, sponsors aim to open Lighthouse Ranch by early 2026.
