Nonprofit Looks To Spread Suicide Prevention Awareness – The Post Journal
Jeff Winton is pictured with his late mother, Elaine. Though his mother passed away before Rural Minds was born, Winton credits her with the inspiration for the nonprofit.
By Sara Holthouse
MAYVILLE — America’s mental health crisis became personal for Jeff Winton of Wall Street Dairy in 2012 when his nephew, Brooks, committed suicide.
“It was very sudden and we had no idea he was struggling,” Winton said. “It caught us off guard. In rural America, we don’t always talk about our struggles.”
A few years later, Winton became the founder of the nonprofit Rural Minds. He credited the idea for the nonprofit — with its main goal to help those in rural areas who are suffering with mental health needs — to his late mother.
“It was my late mother’s courage and candor that inspired Rural Minds,” Winton said. “She was the one who said we need to focus on this in detail. This has been going on too long and we need to talk about it so no one goes through what our family did.”
Rural Minds officially launched two years ago in October, and while Winton said his mother passed away five years ago, so she never got to see Rural Minds be born, she was the one who planted the seed.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and Winton said the organization works to help those in rural areas who might not have close access to mental health providers.