SHREVEPORT, LA. (RFD NEWS) — As National Suicide Prevention Month highlights the need for mental health resources, AgriSafe is working to expand access to behavioral health care for farmers and rural communities.
AgriSafe’s Total Farmer Health Director, Dr. Tara Haskins, joined us on Tuesday’s Market Day Report to share about the organization’s community trainings designed to help people feel more comfortable having conversations about mental health and suicide prevention.
“We’ve always provided community trainings for prevention, enabling community members to feel comfortable having conversations,” Haskins said.
In her conversation with RFD News, Haskins said AgriSafe has also developed Farm Response training and the AgriStress Provider Directory to help connect people in agricultural communities with behavioral health providers.
Expanding Access to Care
Haskins said access to behavioral health care is one of the key differences between rural and urban communities when it comes to mental health outcomes.
“We also know that connection and access to behavioral health care can shift crisis into resilience and well-being,” Haskins said.
AgriSafe’s Farm Response training is designed for health professionals working with agricultural communities. Haskins said more than 3,800 health professionals across the United States have completed the training.
“We’ve trained over 3,800 health professionals across the United States in Farm Response,” she said.
The Suicide Prevention Resource Center also accepted the training into its Best Practice Registry after AgriSafe demonstrated its effectiveness and evidence base, Haskins said.
She said participants in the training wanted more information on how to connect with agricultural communities, which helped lead to the creation of the AgriStress Provider Directory.
“The exciting thing was that our learners wanted to know, how do we connect to these agricultural communities?” Haskins said.
The directory was launched with support from CoBank and the Farm Credit Council.
Finding a Behavioral Health Provider
The AgriStress Provider Directory is publicly available and allows users to search for behavioral health providers who have completed Farm Response training.
Haskins said users can search by location and type of service, including in-person and telehealth options.
“You can search by location, type of service, whether you want in-person or telehealth, and find a behavioral health provider that meets your needs,” Haskins said.
Provider listings also include direct contact information.
AgriSafe is also continuing to offer community training opportunities, including free trainings through the end of the year, Haskins said.
LEARN MORE: www.agrisafe.org
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please know you are NOT alone. Help is available.
Call or text 988 to speak with someone today.
