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Mental Health - Faith, Farmers & Families

Extension Education

Amie Breshears
Ag Business Field Specialist
University of Missouri Extension
Warsaw

Abstract

University of Missouri Extension (MU Extension) used USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) funds to launch the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) to address the rising mental health crisis in the farming and ranching community. Since 2020, the FRSAN team with MU Extension equipped Missourians with 1) stress and mental health classes, 2) suicide prevention programs, 3) stress and mental health awareness resources, and 4) free behavioral health and telehealth counseling sessions. Our hope was to involve communities at the grassroots level in helping MU Extension improve mental health among rural Missourians. One prime example is the Mental Health - Faith, Farmers & Families initiative in Cole Camp, Missouri. Using existing resources the MU Extension FRSAN team, University of Missouri College of Arts & Sciences Psychological Services Clinic and University of Missouri School of Medicine worked with the faith community of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church to 1) host a farm family concert featuring the Peterson Brothers band; 2) partner with a clinic for farmers; 3) develop local networks of community allies that connect farmers, 4) connect ranchers and families to resources (MU Extension Mental Health Tool Kit); 5) offer free stress and mental health programs; 6) provide free telehealth counseling services and fun family activities with a mental-health focus, and 7) deliver targeted, faith-based story-telling education about stress and mental-health. In 2023, 74 workshops were held across the state with 1,349 farmers and allies served. Forty-two farmers or immediate family members received teletherapy counseling sessions, 996 participants completed Mental Health First Aid, 46 people completed QPR, and 307 finished Weathering the Storm stress training. The FRSAN team and partners provided $247,413 in total value of services.

Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC

This poster is being submitted for judging. It will be displayed at the AM/PIC if not selected as a State winner. The abstract will be published in the proceedings.

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Authors: Amie Breshears, Karen Funkenbusch, Tina Edholm, Joni Harper, Amy Patillo, M. Kathy Dothage
  1. Breshears, A. Ag Business Field Specialist, University of Missouri Extension, Missouri, 65355
  2. Funkenbusch, K. State Health & Safety Specialist, University of Missouri Extension, Missouri, 65211
  3. Edholm, T. Field Specialist in Human Development, University of Missouri Extension, Missouri, 65223
  4. Harper, J. Field Specialist in Natural Resources, University of Missouri Extension, Missouri, 65084
  5. Patillo, A. Field Specialist in Labor & Workforce Development, University of Missouri Extension, Missouri, 65807
  6. Dothage, M. Extension Professor, University of Missouri Extension, Missouri, 65051