Mental Health Month and Ag Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. Suicide rates in agriculture are 3.5 times higher than in the rest of the country.
But still, according to Pam Lewison, Ag Director at the
Washington Policy Center, services in this state to address the mental health needs in agriculture are not taken seriously …
LEWISON … “What is different about that in agriculture is that most people think about financial stressors in terms of, I can’t pay my bills, it’s hard to buy groceries, it’s difficult to address daily needs. In farming, those things are compounded because it’s not just your daily life, it is also your job, your business, your home.”
What we need, Lewison says is a warm handoff, talking with someone who understands …
LEWISON … “So, if you look at other states around the country, a warm handoff in a farm-to-farm setting is, you pick up the phone, you call and say, I am really struggling, I am considering something that I can’t take back. And, in turn, the person who answers the phone is also a farmer or comes from a farm background.”
And, Lewison says we’re not talking about just the farm owners …
LEWISON … “We need to be talk about that in terms of farmworkers as well, because it is a systemic problem that effects ever single person who is involved in a farm operation.”
Lewison says we do it for other groups in this state, it’s now time for legislators to develop greater empathy for our food producers.
