The Program
Project G.R.O.W. provides mental health training opportunities for undergraduate students in departments focusing on food and agricultural sciences as a mechanism for addressing the current farmer suicide crisis.
The program includes a one-day training, webinars, an outreach activity, and mentorship calls for each learning community. Students who opt to participate in the program receive a series of stipends throughout their involvement and will be expected to engage with material related to the learning communities throughout an academic semester.
Why Participate?
The rate of suicide among farmers, ranchers and aquaculturalists in the United States is 84.5 per 100,000- a rate that is higher than for workers in any other occupation and that is 50% higher than the rate of suicide for farmers during the 1980’s farm crisis. Previous research has demonstrated that mental health symptoms also are more severe for farmers than among the general population. Numerous risk factors for psychological distress have been identified that are unique for agricultural populations including economic variables (e.g. tariffs, market prices), environmental factors affecting yield (e.g. drought, pests), and social isolation. Access to lethal means is also hypothesized to contribute to high rates of suicide, with firearms being used in over half of suicides among farmers.
These risk factors are exacerbated by barriers to mental health resources within rural communities. The lack of mental health providers in rural communities is well-documented and is associated with more severe mental health symptoms. Many rural Texas communities are similarly affected; rural counties in Texas have half as many psychiatrists as rural counties in other states and 185 counties in Texas do not have a single practicing general psychiatrist . Among farmers, attitudinal factors, including negative stigma associated with mental health treatment and a cultural emphasis on self-reliance, also have been shown to decrease treatment seeking behaviors.
Benefits
Students will gain knowledge that is likely to increase their psychological resiliency in the face of occupational stressors, will have tools for aiding colleagues who are experiencing high level of stress or distress, and will receive payments for their participation. We hope this program will improve access to mental health resources in agriculture communities and will inform future policy, funding, and research. Ready to participate? Contact us here.