Rural families are under economic, personal and family stress from changes in the farm economy.
ISU Extension can play a vital role by piloting methods to increase access to mental health services and financial management services in rural areas. A few years ago a Quality of Life Team in EC Extension developed a plan to help families in production agriculture make changes in their operation and better connect with existing services. This concept will be implemented as a result of this grant. The QL Team also investigated asset-based approaches to community development. Such assets can help provide a picture of how mental health impacts a rural community s ability to move to new ways of doing business.