If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the by dialing or texting 鈥988.鈥 are also available.
Colorado lawmakers have proposed a pair of measures they say will improve the availability of mental health resources for the state鈥檚 agricultural industry, as stress, anxiety, and depression among ranchers and farmhands have emerged as critical issues that have worsened since the coronavirus pandemic.
The bills under consideration would address a growing need to treat rural mental health issues that have only compounded with the effects of the pandemic and climate change 鈥 all in a state that has suicide rates in the nation. Mental health professionals are scarce in rural parts of Colorado, a significant gap considering suicide rates have been than in metropolitan areas for decades.
Legislators were slated to debate the measures on Feb 7. The would create an agricultural and rural community behavioral health liaison position; that person would connect various state agencies with mental health care providers, nonprofits, and community leaders. The is designed shore up and publicize suicide prevention resources for agricultural workers.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e two hours away from a health professional, and maybe in the winter in a snowstorm it鈥檚 a four- or five-hour drive, you鈥檙e just not going to seek or get the help that you want and need,鈥 said state Sen. Perry Will, a Republican sponsoring the liaison bill. 鈥淎nything we can do to increase access to behavioral health care in rural Colorado and in rural communities is a benefit.鈥
The stresses of working in Colorado鈥檚 agricultural sector are amplified for migrant workers who face language barriers or cultural stigmas. The 2017 Census of Agriculture (updated 2022 data is scheduled to be released in mid-February) of Colorado鈥檚 farms employ Hispanic or Spanish-speaking workers. In 2022, there were more than 19,000 farmworkers statewide.
鈥淲hen we talk about emotional needs, they feel a void. They don鈥檛 know what to do because of this void they feel. But they feel that there鈥檚 something wrong,鈥 said Ere Juarez, a regional director for the who works closely with migrant families. 鈥淭he loneliness, the sadness, the guilt, it鈥檚 high 鈥 super high.鈥
Migrant workers are routinely in Colorado for six to 10 months of the year to support relatives in their home countries. But they often face difficult conditions while in the U.S., Juarez said: working shifts of up to 16 hours a day, living with dozens of people inside small apartments, and having limited communication with family back home. In addition to the language barrier English presents, some workers don鈥檛 even speak Spanish, Juarez added, frustrating those who try to communicate in regional Spanish dialects.
Juarez said those feelings sometimes manifest as alcohol abuse or suicidal thoughts. Behavioral health resources to help workers need to be built up, she said.
鈥淲e all have food on our tables because they work for us,鈥 Juarez said. 鈥淭hey are leaving their bodies in our fields in order to feed us.鈥
Then there is the drop in income when winter and year-round workers might clock in only 10 to 20 hours per week, said Hunter Knapp, development director for Project Protect Food Systems Workers. 鈥淲orkers who stay here throughout the year face a lot of economic challenges and all the associated mental and behavioral health challenges that come with losing income and work.鈥
Iriana Medina, community engagement coordinator at the nonprofit , has identified similar issues. Her organization works with migrant and immigrant communities in Mesa County on Colorado鈥檚 Western Slope, a region known for its juicy and sweet Palisade peaches and regional wine. 鈥淭he diversity of having a person that has a different cultural and language background is a bridge that needs to be built,鈥 Medina said. 鈥淲hatever these bills will take us to will actually be a piece of the puzzle鈥 toward benefiting the Hispanic community, she added.
State Sen. Tom Sullivan, a Democrat and gun violence prevention advocate whose son, Alex, was murdered in the , sponsored the bill to combat suicide. Sullivan said he is concerned that a person is more likely to take their life in a rural district than in an urban one.
鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to acknowledge that there are people struggling in these communities and let them know that there’s somebody out there who will actually listen and understand their problems when they call,鈥 Sullivan said.
蘑菇影院 Health News ethnic media editor Paula Andalo contributed to this story.
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the by dialing or texting 鈥988.鈥 .
