Rural Project Examples Addressing Behavioral health

Updated/reviewed June 2026

Need: To provide affirming, destigmatized healthcare and support to thousands of Tennesseans living with HIV/AIDS, mental illness, substance use disorder, and homelessness – and prevention services for individuals at risk of contracting HIV.
Intervention: Positively Living & Choice Health Network provides services including a medical clinic, pharmacy, therapy, case management, client services like housing aid and transportation, HIV prevention, and a harm reduction program.
Results: The program currently serves over 6,000 individuals and families through its offices in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, and Cookeville and its mobile medical unit for rural communities in Cocke and Claiborne counties.

Updated/reviewed June 2026

Need: To improve students' access to behavioral health services in rural North Carolina.
Intervention: North Carolina Project ACTIVATE provides three tiers of behavioral health supports in the school setting.
Results: The six pilot sites (Cohorts 1 and 2) have created or revised 91 mental health policies, and 53,170 school-based and related employees have received training in different topics and protocols.

Added June 2026

Need: To provide rural first responders with training in Mental Health First Aid.
Intervention: A statewide training program created by the Rhode Island State Office of Rural Health and the state Emergency Medical Services (EMS) office.
Results: Every rural fire department in Rhode Island received training.

Updated/reviewed May 2026

Need: Out of 79 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) surveyed in Minnesota in 2015, behavioral health was the most frequently cited service requested.
Intervention: In response, Rural Health Innovations launched the Minnesota Integrative Behavioral Health Program. This initiative engaged representatives across all sectors in health integration between hospital, primary care, and community services.
Results: Strategy sessions resulted in the creation of resource directories to improve care coordination, evaluation measurements to document results, and an overall better understanding of integrative care challenges.

Added March 2026

Need: To help Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and home visiting programs reduce smoking rates in rural Yuba County, California.
Intervention: A five-year initiative helped FQHCs with integrating tobacco user identification and cessation referral protocols and helped home visiting programs with tobacco screening and family wellness education.
Results: FQHCs and family-serving agencies achieved systems-level change through comprehensive tobacco-free policies, human resources procedures, and client screening protocols.

Updated/reviewed March 2026

Need: Increase behavioral health access after a rural community suicide loss of 5 older men occurring in a 24-month interval.
Intervention: A Critical Access Hospital in Yoakum, Texas, created an inpatient and outpatient community-based behavioral health care model for area residents in need.
Results: Based on the original model's financially sustainable outcomes creating both inpatient/outpatient access, the model has matured with outpatient access now offering comprehensive Licensed Clinical Social Worker counseling services for age groups starting with teens and ranging to older adults.

Added March 2026

Need: To connect people with substance use, trauma, and other challenges to community and services in rural New York.
Intervention: The Recovery Café Camden offers shared meals, small-group discussions, hobby building, and connection to resources.
Results: Between January 13, 2025, and November 18, 2025, the Café recorded 370 participant engagements across Recovery Circles and 128 across School of Recovery classes.

Updated/reviewed January 2026

Need: To reduce the number of overdoses and overdose-related deaths from opioids in rural Pennsylvania.
Intervention: ARMOT provides 1) case management and recovery support services to individuals with substance use disorders and 2) education and support to rural hospital staff, patients, and their loved ones.
Results: Since 2015, ARMOT has received over 2,956 referrals.

Updated/reviewed January 2026

Need: To promote mental health and prevent substance use disorders in rural Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska.
Intervention: Coast to Forest strengthened local capacity through training, technical assistance, education, and community partnerships.
Results: Since the project's launch in 2020, it trained over 800 individuals across the Pacific Northwest in Mental Health First Aid, developed 100 county-level resource guides, organized a series of Community Conversations in five rural Oregon counties, and more.

Updated/reviewed January 2026

Need: Rural cancer survivors report lower levels of physical activity and higher rates of psychosocial distress compared to their urban counterparts.
Intervention: Researchers collaborated with a rural-serving organization in northeast Texas to test a 3-month intervention which enhanced an existing exercise program with behavioral health education, yoga, and home-based exercise components.
Results: Program participants were twice as likely to report meeting physical activity recommendations at post-intervention than participants in a control group and reported significant reductions in psychosocial distress.

Rural Project Examples: Behavioral health