Based on Sauk County, Wisconsin, the Farmer Angel Network It is the founding organization behind an increasing agricultural initiative for mental health that serves the southern central Wisconsin and reaches the public throughout the State and the country. Its mission is to ensure that all farmers can lead durable, healthy and productive lives. With a vision that has rooted in support from farmers in farmers, the network works to reduce the mark surrounding mental health and to strengthen rural communities through connection and support.
Two of the founders of the network, Brenda Statz and Dorothy Harms, bring deeply personal experience to their defense. Brenda, a lifelong farmer, co -operates Statz Circle S Farms LLC and Dorothy and her husband, Don, have previously ran a beef business and now host visitors to their stay. After Brenda lost her husband suicide and Dorothy lost two friends farmers while navigating her own transition from dairy farming, and both became strong supporters for mental health to agriculture.
In this discussion, Brenda and Dorothy share their ideas for mental health in agriculture, the power of supporting by peer and what the Angel farmer does to make a difference.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Daily Yonder: What is the Angel Farmers Network and what inspired its creation?
Dorothy Harms: Farmer Angel Network is a collaboration of many different groups, but is based on the support of farmers and the provision of educational resources in the field of mental health for agricultural communities.
We started about six years ago when Brenda’s husband, Leon, died of suicide. He was a good friend and the community really came together to say we have to do something. At that time, we weren’t sure what it would look like. But here we are, six years later and very established in the work we do. But I think in its core, Farmer Angel Network is the efforts of the farmers themselves to make room for mental health support.
DY: What gap on services and support is the filling of the Angel Angel network?
Brenda Statz: The network we created is committed to bringing visibility. I know when I went through things with my husband at that time, I really didn’t know what resources were out there, and so one of my goals when we started it was just to bring more awareness and visibility to what is available. I thought the more we could illuminate the help and the resources available, the better.
Now we are able to connect people when they reach us either online or orally in the rural communities. We have made room for people to say, “Hi, you can check in my neighbor? They have a really difficult time.” Many of what they need is just listening to, because people need to be heard.
DY: How is the mark of the farmer’s support model to farmers for mental health in agricultural communities?
DH: I think when people hear the story of another farmer and realize that they are going a long way, it helps them to reflect and think, “I’m not the only one.”
One of our consecutive messages is that it is okay not to be okay. Farmers are traditionally very powerful, independent and Stoic. They are used to pulling themselves out of their bootstraps and correcting things on their own. And this mentality can be an obstacle we often work to collapse. When those of us who are farmers are willing to tell our own stories, it helps to open the door for others to recognize and speak more openly about their own struggles.
BS: I have seen this stigma come to life again and again, especially when we pull the events. There is such a stigma, even only to accept a resource from the table. People are afraid that someone will see them take it. So I say, “This could be for a neighbor, or maybe a family member.” In this way, he gives them a reason to take it without feeling exposed.
And I always say, “When you have a phone number or something tangible to keep, even in your most difficult times, it’s a reminder that you are not alone.”
DY: Have you noticed remarkable changes in mark on mental health in agricultural communities over time? How have these shifts influenced attitudes and practices to both the community itself and to healthcare providers?
BS: I think some of his generations. Older generations have always said “men”. My husband, the first time he went to the doctor for depression, was really fighting. It started after leaving me to work full -time to stay home. We had a three -year -old, a four -year -old, and we had just taken over the farm. Leon felt so much pressure. He told me, “If I fail, we all fail.”
In the end, Leon started the medication, but it was not until he was hospitalized that his dad finally opened and admitted he had gone to counseling once, though he never said what to. This gave Leon a little validation. The older generation often sees help as a weakness.
Younger people still feel pressure to handle things alone, believing they will be judged. But as soon as they see someone to help and improve, the mentality begins to shift. The first doctor Leon saw, our family doctor, told him just going to “go” and said he would laugh about it in a year. But it didn’t go like that. He was hospitalized for a week only to get to the right drugs. This doctor later reprimanded, he had to get additional training and finally apologized to me. Leon has spent seven years this year. Thus, this mentality – even in agricultural health care – goes back almost 40 years.
DH: And just to add to what Brenda said, some of our efforts have focused on working with health professionals to help them understand the culture of agriculture. We have done Safetalk workouts, for example, to give them tools to be better active listeners. When a farmer needs time to see a doctor, usually means that things are pretty bad. It is difficult for them to leave the farm. And even then, they could talk about the weather, their dog or a cow before reaching the real issue.
Providers need to learn how to ask the right questions to overcome this. By helping them understand what farmers appreciate and how their mentality differs from someone with standard 8 to 5 work, it can make a big difference. The more health care providers understand that culture, the better they can support our farmers.
DY: What are your hopes for the future of Angel Farmer network?
BS: This area depends largely on dairy farming and the industry is struggling. Farmers face serious financial pressure, so there is often no extra money for exits or family activities. So we try to offer free or low cost opportunities that give them a break and a sense of connection.
I think we need more fun, preventive events to bring farmers together and help them get out of the farm. I would like to see more team activities. It could be something simple, such as an adult night or a small social concentration. It doesn’t have to cost much. The goal is to build the community and give people something to look forward to.
I always talk about what I call “tailgate talk”. The farmers stopped from a neighbor’s place, throw the door to the shipping area, visit for ten or fifteen minutes and then proceed. These days, people are so busy that they don’t take time anymore. But we have to slow down, control each other and be willing to ask questions or just listen.
Sometimes all you need is to show someone you are interested in. Many farmers bear a heavy weight and are afraid to talk about it. But once they open, it can make a huge difference. They realize that they are not alone and can pass it.
DH: We have created a community model through a cooperation of public and private organizations that work together. Now we have a sister chapter in the northwest and we would like to see more communities like ours are growing across the country. In this way, farmers will have a reliable place to help and feel safe. Having farmers involved in planning and providing guidance and counseling for farmers to farmers is a powerful part of the model, we believe it could work well at national level.
This article appeared for the first time The daily yonder and republished here Creative Commons Attribution-Nooderivatives 4.0 International License.
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Previously published In the dailyyonder.com with Creative Commons license
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