Rural Minds Founder & Chairman speaks on American Foundation For Suicide Prevention Webinar

Watch the full webinar above. Jeff’s segment begins at the 27:30 mark, and runs through the 39:15 mark. Jeff then participates in a panel discussion with the other speaker, moderated by Dr. Sonyia Richardson. The panel discussion runs from 39:35 - 1:01:21.

Rural Minds Founder & Chairman Jeff Winton recently spoke on a webinar hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The webinar is the second session of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's (AFSP) Health Equity Summit, focusing on advancing health equity in suicide prevention. The summit emphasizes the need for culturally relevant, relatable, and accessible resources for communities with disproportionate impacts related to suicide, including rural communities.

The session features three speakers discussing specific populations and their unique challenges:

• Jeff Winton speaks about the epidemic of mental health challenges in rural America, where farmers are three and a half times more likely and rural adults are 50% more likely than their urban counterparts to die by suicide. Challenges in rural areas include limited healthcare resources, a scarcity of psychiatrists and lack of broadband service hindering telehealth. Jeff also discusses the the stigma surrounding mental health, which often portrays mental illness as a character flaw.

• Dr. Dana Prince addresses LGBTQ+ youth, noting that suicide is the second leading cause of death for those aged 10-24, with significantly higher risk among LGBTQ+ youth.

• Dr. Pierluigi Mancini focuses on immigrant communities, stressing the critical role of culture and language in suicide prevention.

The session also features a panel discussion with all three of the speakers in a dialogue about the issues confronting communities with disproportionate mental health impacts.