This spring has been an exciting and busy time for the Rural Minds team! As you’ll read in this newsletter, we’ve had a number of wonderful opportunities to raise awareness for rural mental health inequity and develop and distribute information that provides hope. 

During May – Mental Health Awareness Month – Rural Minds presented the second webinar in the 2024 Connections series: “Managing Tardive Dyskinesia in Rural America.” If you missed this webinar, which was sponsored by Neurocrine Biosciences and Teva Pharmaceuticals, you can CLICK HERE to watch it at any time. And be sure to join us for the next webinar on July 11 at 2 p.m. ET – “Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage: Changes Under the Inflation Reduction Act.” Find more information and a link to free registration below.

We wish to express our sincere appreciation to all of you for your generous support of Rural Minds’ Mental Health Awareness Month fund-raising campaign, which included an anonymous supporter who matched donations up to $5,000. Working together, we are having a positive impact on rural America by providing rural residents with vital resources to improve mental health and prevent suicide in their communities. 

We were also thrilled to learn that Rural Minds was chosen as the beneficiary of the KC Summer Kick-Off Horse Show in Kansas City, MO, for a second year in a row. Board Member Jim Modica and I participated in the show and, to top it all off, Jim received the prestigious Howard Surland Judge’s Choice Award. He was selected by the show’s judge as the rider who stood out among the competitors for his sportsmanship and for being a true horse advocate. Congratulations, Jim!

In addition, Rural Minds collaborated with the nonprofit Horses for Mental Health in making a video to help increase awareness and improve access to programs that incorporate horses for mental health in rural America. Below you’ll find a link to the truly touching video – “The Power of Horses: Supporting Mental Health in Rural Communities” – which was released in May.

Again, we are grateful for your continued support. Thanks to you, we are able to expand our programs that provide people who live in rural areas across the country with life-saving mental health information and resources to confront rural mental health challenges.



Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage:

Changes Under the Inflation Reduction Act

Thursday, July 11, 2024

2:00 pm ET | 1:00 pm CT | 12:00 pm MT | 11:00 am PT

Click here for more information and free webinar registration

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is one of the most consequential healthcare laws since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. Featuring a presentation from Council for Affordable Health Coverage President Joel White, this 45-minute webinar will identify new Medicare insurance coverage benefits designed to help patients enrolled in Medicare Part D, which provides coverage for prescription drugs. 

Webinar viewers will gain an understanding of how to access these new benefits and the potential unintended consequences of the Part D benefit redesign. A Q&A session will follow.

Sponsored by Grange Advocacy, this free webinar will be presented by Rural Minds and the National Grange via Zoom with the option of audio-only.

Collaboration is key for Rural Minds in our work to confront the mental health challenges in rural America and eliminate the stigma, suffering, and silence that surround mental illness. That’s why we’ve created this feature for our newsletter – Partners in the Spotlight – where we take a moment to recognize organizations that collaborate with us as valued members of the Rural Minds Partnership Council.

In this issue, we highlight Boehringer Ingelheim.

Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to evolving mental health to enable people to thrive. By linking behavior to the underlying neurobiology of an illness, they are working to develop targeted therapies that can ease the burden of mental health conditions, not just the symptoms. By combining traditional treatment with new and innovative approaches and technologies, their hope is to transform lives, today and for generations to come.

The company has a rich pipeline in all phases of development with current focus in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. Campaigns like Look Beyond Stable and PDT Pathway are important educational efforts to bring more awareness to mental health topics and help transform the perception and understanding of those living with or caring for someone with a mental health condition. 

The company is certified for Mental Health America's (MHA) Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health. The national certification program in the U.S. recognizes employers committed to proactively creating mentally healthy workplaces for their employees.

Boehringer Ingelheim is a biopharmaceutical company active in both human and animal health. As one of the industry’s top investors in Research and Development, the company focuses on developing innovative therapies in areas of high unmet medical need. Independent since its foundation in 1885, Boehringer takes a long-term perspective, embedding sustainability along the entire value chain. More than 53,500 employees serve over 130 markets to build a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable tomorrow.

For more information, visit boehringer-ingelheim.com/us.  

The Power of Horses:

Supporting Mental Health in Rural Communities

In rural America, individuals seeking help for mental health face barriers that often include the lack of access to quality resources. Combined with the stigma that surrounds mental illness, finding mental health support can be difficult and leave individuals feeling unheard and alone.

Rural Minds partnered with the nonprofit Horses for Mental Health in the making of a video to help increase awareness and improve access to programs that incorporate horses for mental health in rural America. As a horse owner and avid equestrian, Rural Minds Founder and Chairman Jeff Winton was delighted to take part in this project.

We invite you to watch the video, “The Power of Horses: Supporting Mental Health in Rural Communities” – a powerful story of resilience and healing.

Watch the video

Rural Minds Named Beneficiary of 2024 KC Summer Kick-Off Charity Horse Show

We are grateful to the event organizers of the KC Summer Kick-Off horse show for choosing Rural Minds as the benefiting charity for 2024. Jeff Winton and Board Member Jim Modica enjoyed participating at the show (in the photos), which was held May 30 - June 1 at the Hale Arena in Kansas City, MO. We would also like to thank the horse show’s sponsors, the many individuals who donated items for the silent and live auctions that benefited Rural Minds, as well as everyone who bid on and purchased auction items.

This event was a wonderful opportunity to help us increase awareness about the mental health challenges faced by people who live in rural areas – where most equine facilities are located. The local television station KCTV5 covered the horse show and highlighted how the event and Rural Minds leadership were shining a spotlight on rural mental health.

Read the Article

From A Father's Point of View

By Todd Henderson

Rural Minds collaborator Todd Henderson grew up in a small town in Indiana and believes he is the third generation in his family to be affected by mental illness. Generation after generation, Todd’s family struggled to access mental healthcare, traveling 60 miles to find therapists, psychologists, and hospitals. Often, help came too little and too late. 

In a guest blog post written for Rural Minds – “From a Father’s Point of View” – Todd shares his son's ongoing struggle with mental illness in hopes of helping other individuals and families.

Read the Blog

On May 20, Jeff Winton had the privilege of leading a discussion on rural mental health resilience during a NY FarmNet co-sponsored event in Wyoming, New York. NY FarmNet consultants also participated in the meeting (shown in the photo). We are grateful for the partnership with NY FarmNet that helps us extend our reach and spread a message of hope and healing to individuals in rural areas who are affected by mental health challenges and substance use disorder.

On May 22, Jeff Winton was the keynote speaker at Trauma Symposium 2024 – “Building Relationships for Recruitment, Retention and Resiliency.” Presented by the Cattaraugus County Trauma Informed Coalition at St. Bonaventure University in St. Bonaventure, NY, the symposium focused on opening a new dialogue regarding mental health in rural areas.

On June 6, Rural Minds Executive Director Chuck Strand participated in a panel discussion – “It Takes All of Us: Community Care + Mental Health” – that focused on how we can better serve people seeking mental healthcare by thinking about the social drivers of mental health. This was the fifth conversation in the 2023-2024 Disability & Health Webinar Series hosted by the Disability Community Engagement Partner Project at the American Association on Health and Disability in partnership with the All of Us Research Program.

On June 7, Jeff Winton gave a presentation on rural mental health resilience to teachers and school administrators at the School Wellness Coordinators Forum, which was held at the the LoGuidice Educational Center in Fredonia, NY. 

Rural Minds is the only national nonprofit focused solely on providing the 46 million people in rural America with free information to confront rural mental health challenges and the stigma that surrounds mental illness.

Click on the links below for some of the latest media coverage of Rural Minds:

KCTV5 – Kansas City Equine Show Shines Spotlight on Horsemanship, Mental Health

Wheat World – National Association of Wheat Growers’ May Podcast Includes an Interview with Rural Minds Founder and Chairman Jeff Winton

Lancaster Farming – Dairy Farmer Leads Push on Mental Health After Family Tragedy

Olean Star – Rural Minds Founder and Chairman Is Building Connections for Mental Health Services Across Rural America

Chautauqua Sunrise with Doc Hamels – Jeff Winton of Rural Minds Discusses Mental Health Awareness Month

Visit the “Rural Minds in the News” webpage to see additional media coverage that helps to increase awareness about mental health challenges in rural America and the stigma surrounding mental illness.

www.RuralMinds.org