25-year-old lawmaker is fighting to lower Montana’s high suicide rates

Democratic State Rep. Jonathan Karlen of Montana talks to Zivvy News about being a young lawmaker and his mission to combat Montana's suicide problem.

Zivvy News is committed to highlighting the work of young changemakers who are tackling key issues and making a difference in their communities and beyond. Ahead of Election Day, Zivvy News has spoken to several Gen Z politicians from both sides of the aisle. View our Gen Z Spotlight series here.

When Montana Democratic State Rep. Jonathan Karlen speaks to his constituents about their concerns, he often hears about Montana’s suicide problem. 

“We have among the highest suicide rates in the country, particularly among youth suicides,” Karlen tells Zivvy News, “And so whether I talk with parents, I talk with people that work in the mental health field, teachers are like, ‘we've got a gap in identifying kids who need additional mental health support and connecting them and their families for resources.’”

Montana has the highest suicide rates in the nation 

Over the last three years, Montana’s suicide rate has been the highest in the U.S., according to  a New York Times analysis of federal data. Reasons for this include access to firearms and social isolation with living in a rural setting, and lack of behavioral health services. Among children ages 11-17, Montana’s suicide rate is more than double the national rate for the same age group. 

This, in part, drove Karlen to introduce and sponsor a bill in the Montana House of Representatives that would have provided middle and high schools statewide with mental health screenings. However, the bill eventually did not pass the House, ending in a 49-51 defeat.

Seeing “dysfunction and division” in politics inspired him to run 

But it was a different cause that inspired Karlen to pursue a political career in the first place. When he was a graduate student at University of Montana, he helped get a state law passed making hunting and fishing licenses more accessible for out-of-state college students at the University of Montana, who had to pay nearly 10 times the price than residents. 

 “[I] met a lot of fascinating people, but also really saw first-hand just some of the dysfunction and division that I saw in the legislature. Granted, this was during COVID, so things were extra crazy.”

After that experience Karlen ran and was elected to  the State House in 2022. 

“People sort of encouraged me to. They were like, ‘well, if you don't like it, you can get involved,.’” He says. Now he is running for a second term, calling his work “incredibly rewarding.”  

Bringing a fresh perspective, but also learning from his older colleagues

Karlen says that his perspective as one of Montana’s youngest legislators is usually appreciated by his fellow state representatives, and in turn he also has learned a lot from his older colleagues, some of which are farmers, ranchers, and politicians that have been working for decades. 

‘There's colleagues that have served in elected office for as long as I've been alive. And just in doing that, they've learned a lot,” he says. “Even if we disagree politically, you know, they can say, you know, we tried this in the budget 10 years ago and here's what happened. Or you know, we tried this procedurally and this worked really well or this didn't.”

As part of Gen Z, Karlen knows that while his generation may lean more Democratic overall, there’s also young people who are Republican, and a lot who are frustrated with both parties.

 “The way I try to center myself is more around values and around outcomes,” he says. “Things like housing that's affordable, clean air and water, fair tax system, you know to me, that's not something that even is inherently partisan.” 

Related: More young people are running for office, but winning is an uphill battle