Rural areas tend to have fewer mental health resources available while also having higher rates of suicide.
In Wisconsin, the rate in rural areas is 18 people per 100,000 residents, it’s 13 per 100,000 in urban areas.
Marshfield Clinic was recently awarded at $580,000 federal grant to help address mental health in rural Wisconsin. The grant comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Through the shortage of mental health professionals, Marshfield Clinic is working to train people in suicide prevention.
Program coordinator Jennifer Smith compares it to training people in CPR.
“We offer suicide prevention training. We offer youth mental health first aid training, and both of those trainings, in particular, are really evidence-based training that are founded on the premise that community members with a little bit of training and skill development can impact the mental health and well-being of the other members of their community,” said Smith.
Marshfield Clinic will focus this training in six counties including Oneida, Vilas, and Price.
Smith says they’re looking at organizations across communities that work with people, especially youth.
“We know that there's work already being done in each of these spaces by coalitions, by county health and human service departments, and so the goal is not to replicate or try and duplicate what's already happening, but to learn from those organizations in the community that are already doing this work, and how can we kind of come in and supplement and support and add to the work that that's already happening,” said Smith.
Part of the grant money will also be going to develop a clearer referral path for those in need of different mental health resources.
“If we can really articulate, this is how it works. These are the steps. This is the response you might get. These are the other resources available in the community. Really, just kind of aligning and making connections across all that exists to make it a little bit easier for an individual to navigate,” said Smith.
The grant period is three years.
If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
