The Impact of Rural Minds Over the Past Year
Rural Minds Founder and Chairman Jeff Winton comments on Rural Minds’ first year of achievements
The following highlights Rural Minds’ successes during our first year as a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing mental health stigma, as well as making mental health information and resources available to people living in rural America:
Rural Minds collaborated with the National Grange to develop the "Growing Hope Together" rural mental health partnership campaign. It was launched in September, National Suicide Prevention Month, with the Rural Suicide Awareness and Prevention Program featuring a webinar that addressed the topic. The goal for this educational program is to create an ongoing, grassroots, person-to-person approach that provides people who live in rural communities with information about mental health and suicide prevention. Rural Minds Founder and Chairman Jeff Winton will provide an overview of the program at the Annual National Grange Convention in Reno, Nevada, on November 17, National Rural Health Day. During the convention, program educational materials co-branded by Rural Minds and the Grange will be distributed.
Rural Minds partnered with Mental Health America (MHA) to develop and promote a co-branded Rural Mental Health Fact Sheet. We are also collaborating with MHA to introduce the fact sheet with a webinar titled “The Rural Mental Health Crisis.”
Rural Minds launched the Rural Mental Health Connections Webinar Series. In keeping with the organization’s mission to serve as the informed voice for mental health in rural America, Rural Minds hosted a series of free webinars that focused on topics such as suicide awareness and prevention, the power of sharing lived experiences to help end the stigma surrounding mental illness, and the impact of digital healthcare technology and telehealth services. Click here to watch video recordings of each webinar in the series including quick access to topics noted by time codes.
Rural Minds established the Rural Minds Partnership Council, which brings together leaders of companies and organizations in the biopharma and agricultural industries to support educational initiatives that address the mental health challenges in rural communities across the country. We thank our Rural Minds Partnership Council members for their participation and support.
Rural Minds was awarded the 2022 Seed to Succeed Grant from Curious Plot, a marketing, communications, and consulting agency that serves the agriculture, food, and companion animal care markets. This grant provides up to $75,000 of in-kind public relations, creative, social/digital, and content strategy to help Rural Minds confront the mental health challenges in rural America and the stigma that surrounds mental illness. Click here to read the press release from Curious Plot that announced the award.
Rural Minds was the recipient of a pro bono integrated advertising and public relations marketing program developed by University of Alabama students enrolled in Dr. Kenon Brown’s Integrated Communications Campaigns summer course. The campaigns that were developed focus on reaching youth in rural America and provide valuable creative strategy to support future programs at Rural Minds.
Rural Minds participated in advocacy initiatives which included an email campaign to pass legislation to approve funding for the expansion of rural mental health virtual peer support groups. The Upton Amendment successfully passed out of committee with a vote of 55 to one. In addition, Rural Minds was as a signatory for letters sent to Congress to support Save Our Air medical Resources (SOAR), a national campaign that aims to preserve access to emergency air medical services across the country, especially in rural communities.