Rural Mental Health – Models and Innovations - Rural Health Information Hub

Added December 2023

Need: To reduce stigma around mental illness and substance use in North Carolina.
Intervention: The Beaufort County Behavioral Health Task Force created the Riverfront Talks: Substance Matters podcast to interview people with lived experience.
Results: As of December 2023, the podcast has 10 episodes.

Updated/reviewed December 2023

Need: Agencies in Schoharie County, New York were seeing a widespread trend of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in the children and families they served.
Intervention: The Schoharie ACEs Team was formed as a way to educate rural communities about ACEs, the associated brain science, and ways to build resiliency.
Results: The ACEs Team has put on 5 half-day educational conferences, 2 virtual conferences, and 10 trainings for various groups across the region. The team has also trained 3 school districts on trauma-informed care and provided resources for families exposed to trauma.

Updated/reviewed November 2023

Need: Mental health assessment and referral to resources for men in rural Michigan who struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts.
Intervention: The Healthy Men Michigan campaign was a research study testing online screening for depression, including irritability and anger, and suicide risk in working-aged men. The Healthy Men Michigan campaign website also provided referrals to local and national resources specific to men's mental health and suicide prevention.
Results: More than 5,000 individuals completed anonymous online screenings and 550 men enrolled in the study. Healthy Men Michigan secured partnerships with over 225 individual and organizational partners, including healthcare facilities, small businesses, and recreational groups across the state. Together, their efforts have helped to promote screenings, reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking behavior to prevent suicide.

Added November 2023

Need: To reduce the number of overdose deaths in Richmond, Indiana and connect people in need of mental health treatment to community resources.
Intervention: A mobile integrated healthcare (MIH) program that connects social workers with people who have just experienced a mental health crisis or overdose.
Results: More than 320 people have been referred to Richmond's MIH programs since June 2022.

Updated/reviewed July 2023

Need: To reduce suicide and substance-related deaths in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Intervention: The Care and Support program provides support through phone calls, cards, and texting to those who have called suicide helplines or were referred by a healthcare provider.
Results: In 2022, FirstLink made 15,624 calls and sent 3,357 cards to program participants.

Updated/reviewed June 2023

Need: To reduce youth suicide rates.
Intervention: Hope Squad is a nationwide program that trains youth to look after their classmates and refer those with suicidal thoughts or other mental health concerns to adult advisors.
Results: Studies suggest that Hope Squad schools' students with suicidal thoughts are more likely than non-Hope Squad schools' students to solicit help. In addition, stigma surrounding mental illness is decreasing.

Added June 2023

Need: To expand services for individuals and families living in poverty in rural Western New York.
Intervention: The Rural Outreach Center (ROC) offers care coordination, therapy, budgeting assistance, and multiple other services and opportunities to help address immediate needs as well as empower individuals to work toward long-term freedom from generational poverty.
Results: The Rural Outreach Center serves approximately 250 adults and children each year through counseling, care coordination, and empowerment opportunities. The ROC reports that many participants have achieved and sustained goals related to housing, savings, employment, and other social determinants of health – which are also measures of poverty.

Updated/reviewed June 2023

Need: To create a safe space for youth and young adults, ages 14 to 25, in rural eastern Kentucky.
Intervention: The Sapling Center provides independent living skills education and offers a wide array of services as well as fun activities in a supportive environment.
Results: The Sapling Center serves 50-75 teens and young adults every day. Increasing demand for services led to the opening of more centers in the region.

Updated/reviewed May 2023

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.

Updated/reviewed April 2023

Need: Multiple organizations in rural east central Illinois needed a more efficient, centralized system for referring patients experiencing a behavioral health crisis to appropriate treatment services.
Intervention: The Regional Behavioral Health Network was established with a 24-hour toll-free crisis line, providing immediate access to trained crisis clinicians.
Results: Improved access to high quality behavioral healthcare for patients in rural east central Illinois.

Rural Mental Health – Models and Innovations