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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/rural-colorado-farmers-ranchers-mental-health-care/>
"Every Monday and Wednesday morning, at a sand-colored storefront along Swink
Avenue in Rocky Ford, Colorado, coffee is brewed, donuts are laid out, and
members of the agriculture-based community are invited inside the double-wide
doors. The interior looks like an oversized living room: There are rocking
chairs, plants, framed landscape photos, a big-screen TV, and a high-top table
surrounded by stools.
Welcome to the Coffee Break Project — a nontraditional support model aimed at
combating the mental health crisis in Colorado’s agriculture communities.
“It doesn’t look clinical,” said Joseph Carrica, EdD, vice president and chief
health care innovation and strategy officer at Valley-Wide Health, the
nonprofit health care entity behind the project. And that’s by design.
In an industry and community where discussing mental health issues remains
largely stigmatized (as does seeking related care), the Coffee Break Project
offers an alternative method for bolstering emotional well-being by simply
providing farmers, ranchers and agricultural workers a safe space to support
each other. The motto of the Coffee Break Project, which is plastered on the
door, sums it up: “Do you look after your neighbors as close as your crop or
herd?”
“It’s become a socially acceptable place to hang out and not feel like you’re
being judged,” said Carrica. “Because I think people know it’s not a location
where counselors are — it’s where conversation is.”
The project, started about four years ago in response to four suicides among
men with ties to Kiowa County and its agriculture community, is one of a
growing number of initiatives aimed at supporting a population of Coloradans
especially prone to mental health challenges, but also unlikely to seek help
for their struggles, due to lingering taboo."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
