An outdoor paradise in California has a high suicide rate. Locals are determined to turn it around

Though the Lake Tahoe region has rates higher than the state average, residents are addressing a shortage of services Every year, about 2 million people come to the outdoor paradise of Lake Tahoe, which offers snowy ski slopes in the winter and sunny lakeside activities in the summer. At more than 6,000ft in elevation, the alpine community centers on the stunningly blue lake, which spans the California-Nevada border and is often called “the jewel of the Sierra”. But beneath this idyllic scenery lies something known as the “paradise paradox”. As in many US resort areas, the suicide rates in the Tahoe region, including the city of Truckee, are far higher than the state average – and these communities don’t have enough resources to deal with the issue. Since 2022, there have been nearly 40 confirmed suicide deaths in Truckee, South Lake Tahoe and four lakeside counties, an area with a combined population of about 73,000, according to an analysis by the Tahoe Daily Tribune. Nearly one-quarter of these involved firearms. This puts the suicide rate at nearly double that of California’s 10.1 per 100,000 people. “Tahoe is a place that presents itself as somewhere you want to be,” said Nath