Growing up on my family’s multigenerational dairy farm in Chautauqua County, I knew local residents struggling with mental illness in silence, but it did not hit home until my 28-year-old nephew, Brooks, died by suicide, leaving behind 3-year-old twins. My late mother, Elaine Winton, and I made a commitment to talk openly about this tragedy, which led to me founding Rural Minds, a national nonprofit organization. The mission is to serve as the informed voice for mental health in rural America, and to provide mental health information and resources.