Governor J.B. Pritzker attended the Farm Progress Show, the nation's largest outdoor farm event, in Decatur on Tuesday to discuss the expansion of farmer mental health initiatives throughout Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) announced a grant award of $500,000 to increase the mental health stress-related resources in the state.
“As governor, I’ve sought to make Illinois a state where mental health care should not and cannot be treated as a secondary healthcare service,” said Pritzker. “That includes tailoring mental health resources to better support our farmers and farm families."
IDOA teamed up with Southern Illinois University Medicine Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development and University of Illinois Extension to apply for the newly awarded grant.
In 2019, the Farm Family Resource Initiative (FFRI) was established in Illinois in an effort to target mental health needs among the farming and agricultural communities. The FFRI initially launched a six-county pilot for the following counties: Christian, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Morgan, and Sangamon.
Pritzker announced the success of the original launch-pilot program will now be available for all 102 counties in Illinois.
Each will be able to connect people with mental health resources and providers via a Farmer Assistance Helpline. The telephone hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-833-FARM-SOS.
A text and email helpline will be added to the service options as well along with an increase in professional behavioral health service partners, agriculture literacy training, expanded mental health first-aid trainings.
"These efforts build on my efforts to increase the structural economic and health supports that keeps everyone else afloat," Pritzker said. "When it comes to mental health, sometimes asking for help is the bravest thing you can do."
In addition to telehealth services, having access to nearby in-person health facilities is something is a priority Pritzker says is currently being worked on with federal, state, and local governments.
"We've got to make sure we're providing incentives for people to move to clinics in rural areas across the state so it's not a three-hour drive, Pritzker said. "Telehealth may not be perfect, but it can be vitally important if there aren't enough treatment centers readily available."