MORGANTOWN, PA — It’s a closely kept secret. 

Mental illness has had a profound effect on people in rural areas—and they are less likely to have access to services and perhaps are far less likely to reach out for help.

Rural Americans have higher rates of depression and suicide than do urbanites, but are less likely to seek mental health care services, according to Mayville, NY-based Rural Minds.

The organization uses information, resources and support to help address the mental health needs of rural America.  

The numbers aren’t good. 

Just a sample: The Centers for Disease Control found that suicide rates have increased by 45 percent in non-metro areas from 2000 through 2020. Rural residents have a 1.5 times higher rate of emergency room visits for nonfatal self-harm than do urban residents. 

Reaching out

At the recent PA Grange State Session—held in October—was the October 19 evening presentation by Jeff Winton, founder of Rural Minds, to 125 members of the grange.  

Winton spoke about his 28-year-old nephew Brooks, who committed suicide—and how this propelled him to action.  

Following Brooks’ death, Winton and his family spoke up about suicide rates and mental health needs of their rural community.  

Winton, who grew up on his family’s dairy farm in upstate New York, learned that many families in his small town had a relative or friend who was dealing with some form of untreated mental illness.  

Winton found that these individuals dealt with depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia or other issues in silence, which meant that treatment didn’t happen.  

Rural Minds is developing a Rural Suicide Awareness and Prevention program. The goal, according to a news release from the PA Grange, is to create a grassroots, person-to-person approach that provides people who live in rural communities with mental health and suicide prevention information.

“In speaking at grange halls across the country, my goal is to generate awareness of the challenges and barriers to mental health care in rural America, and to highlight the many resources available through Rural Minds,” Winton said. Furthermore, “Sharing my own family’s story of loss has encouraged others to step forward and share their stories, which helps alter the perception of mental illness. Ending the stigma that keeps so many suffering in silence is my vision, and the vision of Rural Minds.”

The National Grange is partnering with Rural Minds in this work. 

“The Pennsylvania State Grange strives to serve our local communities,” said Matt Espenshade, president of the Pennsylvania State Grange. “And what better way can we do that than to address the crises that mental health presents in rural Pennsylvania?” 

To learn more about Rural Minds, visit www.ruralminds.org/. 

To learn more about the Pennsylvania State Grange, visit www.pagrange.org/. 

Annemarie Schuetz contributed reporting to this story.