Each year, as we recognize the third Thursday of November as Rural Health Day, it’s important to acknowledge that mental health is the foundation of overall health for the 46 million people living in rural communities across the country. There is a mental health emergency in rural America due to inherent barriers to mental healthcare that lead to suicide rates that are 49% higher among rural residents compared to urban residents. You may not realize it, but regardless of where you live – a city, the suburbs, in the country – you depend upon the mental and physical wellness of the people living in rural America for the food you eat every day. Rural communities include those who labor to raise, harvest, process, and package the foods that fill our shopping carts and satisfy our appetites.

Rural Minds Founder and Chairman Jeff Winton was featured in news segments on rural radio stations across the U.S. The coverage coincided with National Rural Health Day on November 18, 2021. Jeff shared his personal story about the death by suicide of his nephew, Brooks, at Jeff’s family farm in rural upstate New York. This served as the tragic inspiration that led to Jeff establishing Rural Minds with the mission to serve as the informed voice for mental health in rural America, and to provide mental health information and services.