Mental Health, Addiction Top Rural Health Concerns

 
Article by Lancaster Farming

For the first time in 20 years, rural stakeholders say mental health and addiction will be more pressing over the next several years than access to basic health care.

This somewhat surprising fact comes from a recent survey by the Southwest Rural Health Resource Center of health care and human services workers, public administrators, educators and others in the field.

For the past two decades, the biggest issue in the survey was access to health care. But now, mental health ranks No. 1 and addiction ranks No. 2, regardless of age, race, occupation or region of the country.

The rise of the opioid epidemic prior to the pandemic and the lack of mental health resources during and after the pandemic brought these to the top of the list.

Rounding out the top 10 rural health care concerns going forward are health care access and quality, overweight and obesity, drug and alcohol abuse, nutrition and healthy eating, older adults, preventive care, diabetes, and economic stability.

For rural and small-town grassroots organizations, like the Grange, these survey results tend to validate the trends we’ve been observing for several years.

For instance, suicide rates are 68% higher among rural residents than major metropolitan areas, over 60% of rural counties have no psychiatrist, there are 20% fewer primary care doctors in rural counties than urban counties, and the stigma surrounding mental health challenges in rural America is huge.

To address these issues, the Grange has partnered with the organization Rural Minds, a nonprofit whose mission is to serve as an informed voice for mental health in rural America and to provide mental health information and resources.

Its founder, Jeff Winton, operates a family dairy farm in Chautauqua County, New York, and lost his nephew Brooks to suicide on the farm in 2012.

Jeff’s family made the decision at that time to not yield to the traditional stigma of being silent about suicide and spoke about Brooks’ struggles at his funeral. The outpouring of support and stories from other farm families about their own struggles with mental health was a wake-up call that led Jeff to establish Rural Minds.

Jeff and his staff are in great demand as speakers at national, state and local Grange meetings and other rural group gatherings, focusing on elevating the rural mental health movement, providing the platform to spotlight personal stories, raising awareness, sharing best practices of existing mental health organizations and engaging participation and support.

Jeff and his staff will be featured at the National Grange convention Nov. 14 to 18 in Niagara Falls, New York.

Learn more at ruralminds.org.

The National Grange is also supporting the reauthorization of the Farm and Ranch Stress Network in the upcoming Farm Bill and asking for $15 million per year, up from $10 million allocated in the last Farm Bill.

The network connects farmers, ranchers and agricultural workers with mental health assistance.

In addition, the Grange is partnering with Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, to push for a 24-hour crisis helpline staffed by trained and experienced professionals who come from rural communities or are familiar with farming and ranching culture.

Depression and mental illness are illnesses and can be treated. All these efforts will help reduce the stigma of asking for help and reduce the tragic statistics in rural America.

In addition to speaking to delegates and members at the Grange National Convention, the Rural Minds team, New York FarmNet and the National Grange will co-present a moderated panel about mental health that will feature cross-generational participants with members of the Silent Generation to Gen Z. This panel will be held on Nov. 16 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Niagara Falls Convention Center and is open to the public.

On Nov. 18 at 9 a.m., the three organizations will also present a workshop about rural mental health first aid and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s “Talk Saves Lives” program, which will be led by a family counselor from NY FarmNet. This is also open to the public.