During her freshman year in college, Asheton was deeply affected by a classmate’s suicide. And even though she hadn’t known him personally, his story hit home.

“The thing that stuck with me is that he was just like me,” she said. “He came from a small town. He lived on the same floor as me. He was a freshman, and he was taking the same classes I was, and he was struggling with them.”

For Asheton, moving from Roxboro, North Carolina, to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had been an exciting change from the quiet country roads of her childhood. Growing up, her closest friends lived miles down the road.

“I went from being the smartest kid in the school to being one of the smart kids. And it was like I was pulled underwater,” she explained. “It was the most difficult change I’ve ever had to deal with.”

Addressing Mental Health Care Issues in Rural America – Brownfield AgNews. From a weakening AG economy to financial instability, the stress factors that impact rural America are unique. Julie Lux with Rural Minds says the first step to addressing mental health in rural America is changing the mindset about mental illness.

Rural Minds provides free information and services and launched the Rural Mental Health Resilience Program

MAYVILLE, N.Y. — National rural mental health nonprofit Rural Minds was selected as the 2023 STARR Coalition Advocacy Organization of the Year and received the prestigious STARR Award.

“This recognition is bestowed upon the advocacy organization that has demonstrated exceptional dedication to advocating on behalf of those living with mental illnesses, their efforts to fight the stigma of mental illness and support of the STARR Coalition’s collective efforts to expand mental health clinical research,” said STARR Coalition Director of Operations Erica Moore.