Hear how Jeff Winton and Rural Minds are finding new ways to prevent stigma, silence, and suffering around mental illness in rural communities
Content warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide.
Rates for depression are higher in rural America than in urban areas; and according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide rates among people living in rural areas are 64 to 68 percent higher compared to people living in large urban areas. Public health awareness campaigns that work in cities aren’t cutting it in the countryside. Rural communities require a different communication approach.
That’s where Jeff Winton comes in. Jeff runs Wall Street Dairy in upstate New York, and he’s the founder of Rural Minds, a 501c3 nonprofit with the mission to serve as the informed voice for mental health in rural America and to provide mental health information and resources. The organization’s vision is a rural America where there’s no more stigma, silence, or suffering around mental illness.
Jeff founded Rural Minds in response to the suicide of his 28-year-old nephew, Brooks Winton. On this episode, we’ll discuss Jeff and Brooks’ story, and how they aim to raise awareness and remove stigma around mental illness in rural America. Recognizing that self-reliance and a do-it-yourself mindset are common among many individuals who live in rural communities, Rural Minds is partnering with individuals and organizations to help empower rural Americans with information, resources, and training to become part of the solution to improving rural mental health and preventing suicide.
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If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email us at cultivemos@youngfarmers.org
This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) project 2020-70028-32729.
Descripción:
Advertencia sobre el contenido: En este episodio se habla de suicidio.
Los índices de depresión son más altos en las zonas rurales de Estados Unidos que en las urbanas; y según los últimos datos de los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades, los índices de suicidio entre las personas que viven en zonas rurales son entre un 64 y un 68 por ciento más altos en comparación con las personas que viven en grandes zonas urbanas. Las campañas de concienciación sanitaria que funcionan en las ciudades no sirven en el campo. Las comunidades rurales requieren un enfoque de comunicación diferente.
Ahí es donde entra Jeff Winton. Jeff dirige Wall Street Dairy, al norte del estado de Nueva York, y es el fundador de Rural Minds, una organización sin ánimo de lucro 501c3 cuya misión es ser la voz informada de la salud mental en las zonas rurales de Estados Unidos y proporcionar información y recursos sobre salud mental. La visión de la organización es una América rural donde no haya más estigma, silencio o sufrimiento en torno a la enfermedad mental.
Jeff fundó Rural Minds en respuesta al suicidio de su sobrino de 28 años, Brooks Winton. En este episodio, hablaremos de la historia de Jeff y Brooks, y de cómo pretenden concienciar y eliminar el estigma en torno a las enfermedades mentales en la América rural. Reconociendo que la autosuficiencia y la mentalidad de "hágalo usted mismo" son comunes entre muchas personas que viven en comunidades rurales, Rural Minds se asocia con individuos y organizaciones para ayudar a empoderar a los estadounidenses rurales con información, recursos y capacitación para convertirse en parte de la solución para mejorar la salud mental rural y prevenir el suicidio.
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Si tienes preguntas sobre el programa o sobre temas que te gustaría que se trataran en futuros episodios, envíanos un correo electrónico a cultivemos@youngfarmers.org
Este trabajo cuenta con el proyecto 2020-70028-32729 Instituto nacional de alimentos y agricultura (NIFA, por sus siglas en inglés) del Departamento de agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA, por sus siglas en inglés) y la Red de asistencia para el estrés en fincas y ranchos del noreste (FRSAN, por sus siglas en inglés).
#MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #FoodSystemResilience #FoodSovereignty #FoodJustice #cultivemos #foodfirst
Hans Hageman:
Just a quick warning before we start, this episode contains stories of suicide and suicidal ideation. If you find those topics difficult to listen to, you might want to skip this one. If you're in distress or need support, one resource that is available 24/7 is the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Just call or text 988, and get free and confidential support right away. We'll have that, and a number of other resources in the show notes, through this episode. Onto the show.
Jeff Winton:
... And, when you grow up in a rural area, especially on a farm, you're taught to be independent. And so, for generations, people in rural America have been told, don't talk about mental illness because it's really not an illness, so you just need to get over it and move on, and forget about it. Well, you can't do that with cancer. You can't do it if you have a heart condition. You certainly can't do it with the many forms of mental illness that exist in this world.
Kay-Megan Washington:
This is Cultivating Resilience, the podcast where farm care starts with self-care. I'm Kay-Megan Washington.
Hans Hageman:
And, I'm Hans Hageman. Today, we've got a conversation with Jeff Winton, New York Dairy farmer and founder of Rural Minds, a nonprofit that connects mental health resources to rural America. Pretty much the perfect guy to talk to you on this podcast.
Kay-Megan Washington:
Hear how Jeff turned a family tragedy into community healing, and why his work starts with storytelling, plus, why rural America requires a distinct approach to mental health. Here's Jeff.
Jeff Winton:
I am a eighth generation dairy farmer, I grew up on a dairy farm in Western New York, and my undergraduate degree from Cornell University, is in agriculture. And then, eventually about mid-career, I had the opportunity to branch into the biopharmaceutical industry. So, I had the opportunity at a couple different companies to work for organizations that focused on various forms of mental illness, whether it was major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder. So, I had a good grounding in what was going on, behind the science of mental illness.
I still live and work on a dairy farm, as a matter of fact, my morning normally starts around five o'clock, taking care of the baby calves, which is my favorite part of the farming operation. And then, I launch into my business day, and then my day ends also back over, across the street, from where I'm talking to you, where the barns are. It really has kept me grounded in the reality, and the many idiosyncrasies that are involved in living and working in rural America.
Kay-Megan Washington:
Tell us a bit about your dairy, Wall Street Dairy, as I believe it's called.
Jeff Winton:
Wall Street Dairy.
Kay-Megan Washington:
A great way to bring your business life into the name of the...
Jeff Winton:
Well, and that's what most people think.
Kay-Megan Washington:
Is that not where it came from?
Jeff Winton:
No, no. It's interesting, it's not at all. We're on a little road called Wall Street. Most people think that there was a [inaudible 00:03:32] because I did spend time on Wall Street. I lived and worked in New York City, and people just assumed that that's where it came from. But literally, we're on this road that probably gets...
Kay-Megan Washington:
You're on Wall Street.
Jeff Winton:
... 10 cars a day, and we're in Wall Street, in New York, but not New York City. The first thing you would hear, and you may hear during our conversation today, are the cows mooing or the baby calves calling for their dinner. You may see some farm dogs running around, some barn cats running around. We are in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, up in the Lake Erie region of New York. So, because we get so much snow and precipitation up here, we're very close to Buffalo, everything is very green and lush most of the year, when it's not snow covered. And so, you have these gorgeous rolling hills, throughout the farm where we are.
On the surface, everything in rural America seems beautiful and tranquil and serene, but behind that facade, are millions of people suffering and suffering in silence because they don't feel permission to speak about their mental illness, like perhaps they do other illnesses. The harsh reality is that mental illness is a growing epidemic in rural areas, and a statistic I just saw recently, that came out from the CDC, which was absolutely shocking for me, is that the rate of suicide amongst people that live in rural areas is now 65% higher, than it is for people that live in urban areas.
Kay-Megan Washington:
But, even though rural Americans are disproportionately affected by this mental health epidemic, they weren't being served by existing organizations.
Jeff Winton:
There are some terrific organizations that have been around for decades, that have really done tremendous work. But, when I started having conversations with those groups, and I was working with them because of my job, almost to a group, they said to me, "We admit we don't know a lot about rural America. We're really good when it comes to the beltway. We're really good at reaching audiences in Los Angeles or New York City or Miami, but it's really been a struggle for us getting a stronghold in rural America."
Kay-Megan Washington:
So, Jeff decided to start his own organization.
Jeff Winton:
Rural Minds is a relatively new organization. We were launched 15 months ago, and we are focused on eliminating the stigma, the silence, and the suffering that exists surrounding mental illness and substance use disorder, specifically in rural America.
Kay-Megan Washington:
But, Rural Minds also has roots closer to home.
Jeff Winton:
We felt that there was a growing need to have someone from rural America, speaking on behalf of rural America, to ensure that the 65 million people that live in rural parts of this country, are not forgotten, as they also are on this journey, dealing with mental illness issues. It was really born out of a family tragedy, in my personal family, when my nephew, who was 28 at the time, and the father of three year old twins, died by suicide. It was a real wake up call for my family and for the community, that so many people had been suffering in silence for many, many years up here, including when I was growing up. But, no one ever felt that they were able to talk about it.
My nephew, his name was Brooks, was a big, outgoing, gregarious football player kind of guy. Even though he was born several months premature and was a teeny little baby who was in the hospital for many months after he was born, as many preemies do, he overcompensated and was literally 6'8" and weighed 320. He was a big...
Kay-Megan Washington:
Oh, my.
Jeff Winton:
... Strapping guy, who was very helpful on a family farm because he could literally pick a cow up and move it himself, and everyone in this part of New York knew him and adored him. He was actually a pretty good athlete in high school, being as big as he was. He always made the football team and the wrestling team without any issue, but he was so big, they sometimes couldn't find anyone big enough to wrestle him.
So, his oldest brother was married on a beautiful autumn day, and it was one of those picture perfect, Upstate New York autumn days. The leaves were all turning, we were out in the countryside. And so, my nephew was there with his twins, his significant other, they were actually engaged at the time, had a somewhat tumultuous relationship, and it was during a period of time, where they weren't necessarily getting along as well as they should have been.
We now realize that the wedding, his brother's wedding could have very well been the final straw in a struggle he was encountering, that we knew nothing about. I'll never forget leaving the reception of his brother's wedding, and Brooks gave me a big bear hug, which he did quite often. But, then he stopped and held me at arm's length, and he said, "Uncle Jeff, I just want to thank you for everything you've done for me and you've done for my family."
Kay-Megan Washington:
Less than 48 hours later, Brooks had taken his own life. Jeff and his family were devastated.
Jeff Winton:
Again, he's the last person, the very last person in our family that anyone would've ever thought would've been struggling in silence, because he just appeared to be so well-adjusted, and so happy all the time. So, after the initial shock of what happened started to wear off, we realized we had to go from planning and executing a wedding, to now 48 hours later, executing and planning a funeral. The pastor asked us, rightfully so, "How do you want to approach this? How are you planning on telling people? What do you plan on telling people?" Because we had people soon after he died, and again, in a small farming town of 500 people, say, "You're not going to tell people he died by suicide, correct?"
People were almost advocating that we were going to make up a cause of death. We were going to say he died of a heart attack. So, my mother, who had more grace than anyone I've ever known, pounded her hand on the pastor's desk, and said, "Reverend, this has to stop. This has been going on in this farming community too long, and I suspect many other families have gone through this, but no one is willing to talk about it. We're not only going to talk about it, but we're going to talk about it in detail."
Kay-Megan Washington:
In the years since Brooks's death, Jeff has learned a lot about mental illness and the systemic challenges that make it more dangerous to his community. Why do you think that people in rural areas might be more at risk for mental health issues, than other populations? What are some of the risk factors that exist?
Jeff Winton:
First of all, there's a sense of isolation in many cases. Again, I'm looking out the window of my office, here at the farm, and I don't see any other houses. I don't see any people. I don't have any neighbors, really. My neighbors are four-legged here. And so, people, even before COVID hit, were feeling very isolated. And then, once COVID hit, the limited social outlets that people in rural America had, whether it was 4H, the Grange meeting, going to a school activity, were all of a sudden taken away from them.
You also have the issue that there are very few healthcare providers in rural areas that specialize in mental illness. As a matter of fact, 65% of the rural counties in this country do not have a practicing psychiatrist. My nephew, if he had sought help before he died by suicide, would have needed to go to the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, in order to get help.
Kay-Megan Washington:
Even solutions meant to increase accessibility, like telemedicine, aren't effective because they can't reach rural communities.
Jeff Winton:
Nearly 30% of rural communities do not have broadband, at all, and those communities that do have broadband, many times it's suboptimal. So, while telemedicine has proven to be a breakthrough for many people in this country, especially during COVID, it's not the panacea in rural America, that it is for more urban and suburban audiences because people don't have adequate broadband service or cell phone coverage.
The other thing that people in areas like this deal with, quite honestly, is a weakening economy. So, in many rural areas, the economy is based on agriculture, and agriculture, for the past several years has really struggled. We're dairy farmers and the price of milk now, is better than it had been, but it was really bad for many years. And, even though the price is better now, I just read an article this morning, before I got on with you, that the costs of dairy farming, because of fuel and fertilizer and seed, has now risen exponentially.
Hans Hageman:
On top of all that, there are cultural expectations about how you can act and what you can share.
Jeff Winton:
Farm people are very independent. That independence is a wonderful attribute, but on the other hand, at times, if it's taken too far, it means that a person doesn't feel that they have permission to seek help. When you grow up in a rural area, especially on a farm, you're taught to be independent and you're taught to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and not share your problems.
And so, for generations, people in rural America have been told, don't talk about mental illness because it's really not an illness, so you just need to get over it and move on, and forget about it. Well, you can't do that with cancer. You can't do it if you have a heart condition. You certainly can't do it with the many forms of mental illness that exists in this world.
Hans Hageman:
Jeff was asked to give the eulogy at Brooks's funeral, and as he grieved his nephew, he knew he had to do something to break the silence.
Jeff Winton:
The church was filled standing room only, and so step by step, I walked through, for those in the audience who didn't know what happened, what had led up to and resulted in us being there, in that United Methodist Church, in that small town that day. I could tell from where I was standing, giving this talk, that there were a lot of people very emotional in the audience, and I assumed a lot of it was for obvious reasons, because my nephew was so greatly loved.
But, after that funeral was over, we had a line of people for literally hours waiting to talk to my family, to tell us their story, to tell us what had happened, decades ago in their own family. To tell us about their own struggle with schizophrenia or substance use disorder, and because my family had decided that we were going to be transparent and honest, and talk about what had led to this tragedy, all of a sudden people felt that they were at liberty to tell their story, and the flood gates just opened. At that point, that seed was planted, that we thought we had to do something in this community.
Kay-Megan Washington:
Jeff's experience at Brooks' Funeral showed him the power of storytelling, how it broke through stigma and gave others permission to tell their stories.
Jeff Winton:
It all starts with storytelling. It all starts with sharing the human experience and putting a face on various forms of mental illness. We spend a lot of time talking to individuals, who are on that journey, who have a story to tell, and after hearing some of the stories that we share, they finally decide it's time. I spoke to a young man this morning in Pennsylvania, very bright graduate of Villanova, had a very successful career, until his mental illness got in the way of his career. He's currently unemployed, and he reached out to me, and he said, "I have a story to tell, but I don't know how to tell it, I don't know to whom, and I don't know where to begin. Can you help me?"
It sounds like a very easy, basic thing, but because mental illness has been so stigmatized, for so long in rural areas, and because people are still ashamed and very embarrassed of admitting that they're living with mental illness, telling a story, especially in front of a group of people, can be a non-starter. So, we always tell people it begins with telling it to one person. Maybe it's a clergy person, maybe it's a family member.
Once you have the discussion with one person, at least you'll feel you've got a person to go to, because it only takes one. So, we are really focused on getting people to tell us their story, so that we can help them be multipliers, if you will, by then telling their story to others, and then hopefully, those people who have been touched by that particular story, will then tell their stories to someone else.
Kay-Megan Washington:
That's a wonderful way to think about that. The same small town environment and atmosphere that is maybe keeping people from doing things, can also bring people in, when they're telling them their stories about things.
Jeff Winton:
I often tell people the best thing about growing up in a small town, is that everybody knows you, and if you're facing a tragedy, like my family did, everybody gathers around you, brings you casseroles, supports you, do whatever they can to help you. The downside of that, is everyone knows you, everyone knows your business, and if somebody's struggling with something that they're embarrassed about, word travels fast. Everyone knows everyone's car or truck in a small town, and as I said, if you do seek help, sometimes people are worried about who's going to see them going into a particular health provider.
But, this grassroot movement that we're trying to instill in rural communities, we truly feel will help to start causing people to seek help, because they will trust information coming from somebody they sit next to in a church pew, or somebody that they see at a high school basketball game on a Friday night. They may take that counsel and advice much more rapidly, than they will somebody that's unknown to them.
Hans Hageman:
When you're trying to shift the culture, that trust is everything, and it's what many organizations miss, when it comes to rural populations.
Jeff Winton:
How you reach people in a rural area is decidedly different, in many regards, to how you reach a person living in a suburban area or an urban environment. Where they get their information, their sources of trusted information are completely different. The church plays a critical role. The Grange plays a critical role. In the case of youth, the 4H or FFA play a critical role, and so you need to reach these people through the trusted intermediaries. So, we're working with the National Grange, as I mentioned, the National Grange has been in existence 155 years. It's the oldest agricultural fraternity in the country, and they are ready by the nature of their organization, have Grange halls throughout small towns, across this country, where people congregate for education, for difficult conversations. Heck, I learned how to square dance at a Grange hall, wedding receptions are held there.
So, Grange halls tend to be the center of many rural communities, and so we developed a partnership with them, just very recently, where they now are implementing training and educational programs at their Grange halls, the thousands of Grange halls across the country, where people go because that's a source of trusted information. So, if they hear something about getting treatment for mental illness at a Grange Hall, that's going to resonate with them much more than if they just happen to read an article or hear somebody, like myself, talk about my family experience.
Kay-Megan Washington:
Rural Minds uses these trusted institutions, to share all sorts of mental health resources. Can you think of some other resources that people might look for, if they are looking for information about these sorts of issues?
Jeff Winton:
Yes. One thing that we recommend to a lot of people, is a course that's readily available, that you can take in person or you can take online, called Mental Health First Aid. And so, it's basically a first aid class, but focused on mental health. That's a training course that is really very helpful in, not only helping an individual who might be struggling, but more importantly the caregivers of someone, or the support system for a person that might be dealing with mental health.
Another thing that we are doing, and again, we're doing this in conjunction with other mental health advocacy groups, including Mental Health America and DBSA, which is focused on depression and bipolar disorder, is making sure that people understand that there are weekly support groups out there, that people can get involved in, whether they are in person or online.
There's a lot of virtual groups, that are helpful for people in rural America, because they may have to drive quite a distance to get to an in-person group, but they can easily participate in an online support group. So, again, it's a matter of taking this wealth of information and services, that already exist and just make sure, as I said earlier, that they're accessible to people, and that they're conducted, in such a manner and by the right people, that they're going to seem attractive for people that we serve, to participate in.
Hans Hageman:
Creating awareness, building coalitions, amplifying stories, it's hard work. But, Jeff has something that keeps him grounded.
Jeff Winton:
The thing I love about life on a farm, and I didn't realize how much I loved that, until I came back a year ago, is the fact that at the end of the day, you can point a finger to the results of your labor. Working in the corporate world, sometimes you'd work on a project and never see the results of it, because halfway through, that project would get moved or killed, or something would happen. But, on a farm, I can honestly look around, and say, "You know what? I accomplished something today."
Hans Hageman:
I think one of the takeaways for me, is that change requires trust, and as Jeff mentioned, trust is such a huge issue. In the city, there's at least the patina or super structure, I'm not sure what the right word is, of trust, and people then, are more willing to cross the bridge that gets created, and even if it's on a superficial level. My experience in a more rural setting is that that superficiality doesn't cut it, that the bridge needs to have strong foundations, in order for that trust to be realized, and have an impact.
Kay-Megan Washington:
For me, I love hearing the power of a story. That's obviously something we believe in here, Cultivating Resilience. It's a matter of emphasizing certain parts of the story, to resonate with particular audiences. I don't know whether Hans can resonate with this, the prospect of needing to code switch a little bit, depending on who it is that you're talking to. As a somewhat overeducated African American woman that comes up fairly often, there's definitely a lot of... That's a skill that comes in handy, frequently. Thanks to Jeff Winton of Wall Street Dairy and Rural Minds, for sharing stories that need to be told.
Hans Hageman:
Cultivating Resilience is a podcast from Cultivemos. Your hosts are me, Hans Hageman and Kay-Megan Washington. Writing and production for this show is by Andrew Ganem, with sound Mixing and editing by Alex Bennett at Lower Street Media. Until next time, stay grounded.