Rural MindS Video
How One Family’s Tragedy Sparked a Movement to Save Rural Lives
Article by Monica Vanover
Rural Americans are facing a mental health crisis.
If you’ve never lived on a farm, you might think of it as a rustic wonderland. You imagine a red barn beside a quaint house with a front porch overlooking rolling green fields and neatly plowed crop rows. Cows graze lazily in open pastures; chickens strut around the yard. The American family farmer has also been mythologized as almost superhuman: Strong, resourceful, and resilient.
However, there is a dark side to living and working in rural America. Small farming communities are often remote and spread out across the countryside. Family farms and ranches can be even more insular, often down secluded dirt and gravel roads on the outskirts of town. As a result, a disproportionate number of rural Americans can experience a challenge that is increasingly facing the entire country: loneliness and social isolation.
A lack of social connection can cause harm to an individual’s physical and mental health — and in some instances it can be deadly.
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