In this episode, host Brandon Li sits down with Jeff Winton, founder of Rural Minds, a nonprofit dedicated to advocating for mental health services in rural America. Jeff shares his deeply personal story of how a family tragedy inspired the creation of Rural Minds and sheds light on the mental health crisis in rural communities, where stigma and lack of access to care create unique challenges.

We live and work in rural communities. I (Jeff) am the founder and chairman of Rural Minds and from rural upstate New York. I (John) spend part of my time in the least populated county of North Carolina and serve as the chief medical officer and executive vice president at Otsuka in the US. Our experiences in rural America have shown us that in rural communities, though unique in their people and landscapes, mental health inequity is ubiquitous. Across the country, rural residents are struggling to address the growing and seemingly intractable mental health crisis.

Forty years ago, the nation was dealing with the onset of an historic crisis with the farm economy. Land was foreclosed, livestock were sold and people left the farm for the city.

And sadly, farmers were dying by suicide, partly because they didn't know how to deal with the impact.

It is better now, but a great deal of work remains to be done to ensure rural residents have adequate access to mental health care.

“Iowa is 45th in the nation when it comes to mental health providers per capita,” says David Brown, Extension behavioral specialist with Iowa State University. “Fifty percent of Iowans live in areas where mental health care is not very accessible. Things have gotten better, but a lot of work remains.”

Forty-eight hours in September 2012 contained one of a farming family’s happiest days and one of its most tragic.

Brooks Winton’s older brother, Toby, had just gotten married, and the extended family had gathered to celebrate.

Two days later, Brooks, 28, took his own life, leaving behind a wife and 3-year-old twins.

“He gave me a big hug as I was leaving the wedding reception and said, ‘Uncle Jeff, I just want you to know I so appreciate everything you’ve done for my family and me,’” said New York dairy farmer Jeff Winton.

“I didn’t think anything of it because he was a very grateful, very appreciative young man that always went out of his way to thank people for things,” Winton said. “But little did I know he was saying goodbye to me.”