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accessHealthNews.net
May 2024
Volume 10 | Issue No. 84
In rural America, mental illness is often
regarded as a character flaw rather
than a disease, leaving many suffering in
silence. The fear of judgment from one's
close-knit community forces adolescents
and adults alike to avoid seeking care,
if they even have access to a provider
in their area. The combination of limited
availability of and access to mental
health professionals, and rural attitudes
about mental health has created a crisis
plaguing rural areas across the country.
Rural Minds, founded by Jeff Winton, is a
new organization dedicated to addressing
mental health in rural America. After
the loss of his nephew to suicide, Winton
recognized a need for mental health
education, resources, and conversations
that acknowledged the unique barriers,
lifestyles, and beliefs of rural areas. The
vision of Rural Minds is a rural America
where there is no more silence, suffering, or
stigma around mental illness.
Winton recently shared his family's
personal experience with suicide in a
webinar titled, "The Rural Mental Health
Crisis," as part of a partnership with Mental
Health America (MHA). In the webinar, he
also provided an overview of how Rural
Minds is working to address rural mental
health needs, including eliminating the
stigma of mental illness in rural areas.
"What we're attempting to do is shine a
light on this growing pandemic – that will
be a pandemic long after COVID-19 has
been resolved – and to get the resources
in the hands of people that we represent
in a language that makes sense to them
and delivered by trusted messengers in the
community," Winton said.
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Rural Minds aims to provide forums for rural Americans
to share personal experiences with mental health and
connect rural communities to existing mental health
information and services.
