What started as a call to action after a local farmer’s death by suicide has become a grassroots effort in Wisconsin to put mental health wellness and support in the spotlight. Depression, anxiety, and subsequent mental health struggles often are taboo topics and farm families are unfamiliar with or do not have the means to access the health care needed, hence why the Farmer Angel Network was born.
The Farmer Angel Network builds strong rural communities that support agriculture by providing education, resources, and fellowship with a focus on mental health. This group includes farmers, agriculture professionals, local public health, land conservation, Extension educators and others.
The Farmer Angel Network vision is: To serve as a model of how thriving rural communities appreciate and celebrate agriculture through fellowship in order to decrease the stigma of mental health and serve to promote the health of its farming community as an asset to the well-being all within the community.
An early lesson learned in hosting gatherings was the focus needed to be on celebrating farming and appreciation for the hard work of farmers by providing an inviting space for farm families to gather. We provide attendees access to mental health resources through educational programs, informational flyers and trained personnel.
Farmer Angel Network is engaged in Mental Health Awareness not just in May but all year long with fall and winter education topics including farm finances, self-care, nutrition and sleep, and entertainment.
During the summer months, we have hosted ice cream socials with resources inside goodie bags
(at county fair and drive thru events), an art installation at Farm Art D’tour in collaboration with local FFA groups, and our biggest event a Family Fun Night at a local drive-in movie theatre where over 50 farm families enjoyed a night away from the farm – all expenses paid.
Although we are a small group, Farmer Angel Network has become a voice for farmers in the national and global media, shining a spotlight on the need for continued support of mental wellness access for farm families across the country. We hope we can become a model for local communities to form their own Farmer Angel Network to support farmers. Our future goals are to host a website with easy access mental health information for farmers and to collaborate with law enforcement and healthcare professionals to train them on the unique stresses farmers deal with as they are often the first called in a mental health crisis.
To learn more about Farmer Angel Network, visit our Facebook page or contact us at FarmerAngelNetwork@gmail.com.
Dorothy Harms is a Sauk County Farm Bureau member who volunteers for Farmer Angel Network. Alongside her husband Don, Dorothy farms near Reedsburg, Wis.
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