On February 7, Bracken Henderson from the University of Idaho Extension office met in person with interested Oneida County citizens for the first meeting of a six part mental health outreach mission.  The program was overseen via Zoom communication by other extension educators and program officials with the extension office based in Moscow.

The stated purpose of the first meeting was to introduce the program to those in the community who attended, as well as to organize and plan for the future meetings.  A brief overview of the upcoming meetings was given by Henderson, who suggested that the course of the series was designed to be catered to the individual community needs and desires for the program.  The program has been funded in part by the state as a recognition of the importance of mental health programs in the often underserved rural communities throughout the state.

During the Tuesday session, which was very well attended, Bracken Henderson utilized the time to create a sense of what the community’s resources for mental health were, as well as the potential outstanding needs of the community.  “This is really meant to be a discussion,” Henderson said.  “We’re here to try to help with what you decide you want to do.”  The overall mission of the Community Mental Health Project is to raise awareness of mental health issues in rural communities, and to work with stakeholders to develop community-based remediation strategies.  

According to the presenters, rural mental health is a growing concern among professionals.  The suicide rates among both rural adults and teenagers are three times the national average.  Bracken Henderson explained that the project had met with groups in at least twelve counties, and found a number of correlated trends.  One of them was the range of obstacles that are often present in confronting mental health issues in rural communities.  These included money, professional resources, time, and buy-in from residents. 

The audience was asked what they saw as some of the issues confronting Oneida county with regard to mental health.  The overwhelming response from those in attendance was that they felt more pressure than ever existed among school aged children.  A range of potential issues were raised, from bullying to peer pressure to feelings of exclusion among students who were not athletes or involved in school groups.  

“I think a lot of our kids just don’t have any outlets for healthy expression outside of athletics,” City Councilperson Tyrell Neal stated, to general agreement.  The idea of community spaces that might be welcoming to young people, such as recreation centers or other gathering places, was raised.  Outside of school-specific events, it was noted that youth in Malad do not really have any gathering areas for socialization.

Others in the audience chimed in that it was not just young people who had the potential to feel isolated in the community, but also the senior community.  “We have a lot of people who are shut-ins, and never really talk with anyone.  Those are people we really need to reach out to,” said one participant.  A number of anecdotes about older individuals who had experienced depression and other mental health affects after retirement or the deaths of loved ones were shared.

“It’s a bigger problem than a lot of us like to admit,” stated one participant with experience in the health care field.  “A lot of people find it hard to acknowledge, and certainly to talk about to others.”  Resistance to acknowledging depression and mental health concerns have long been noted as systemic barriers to the implementation of solutions. 

“That’s one of the trends we’ve noticed in all the towns we’ve done this in,” Henderson said.  “There seems to be a lot of stigma about even discussing mental health issues in a lot of cases, especially in some of the rural places we’ve visited.”   

Idaho consistently ranks high among U.S. states in overall suicide statistics.  In 2020, it was ranked tenth per capita.  This is especially true of young people.  In that demographic, Idaho tops the list (at 25.2 deaths per 100,000), along with nearby Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.

“Our kids have an awful lot of downtime, especially in the winter,” one attendee said.  “They have a lot of time on their hands, but not always a lot of interaction with other people off the internet.  I think we need more person to person communication.”  

The stress that parents can feel in the current environment about keeping their kids both safe and connected was also expressed.  “Sometimes, we just aren’t sure what we can do,” one woman noted.  “It’s not like it was when any of us were kids.”  Many people chimed in to comment on the relative lack of participation in outdoor activities among many people, especially tennagers.

The conversation also returned to the needs of geriatric residents, whose mental health needs come from different causes.  John Williams, director of the Nell J Redfield Memorial Hospital, explained some of the difficulties of establishing geriatric care facilities.  “Some of the regulations and restrictions about location and services just make it extremely hard to put into effect,” he said.

Those assembled for the meeting, who represented a cross-section of city, county, business, health care, and private citizen concerns, further discussed some of the other underserved communities within the valley as far as mental health outreach, as well as some potential solutions.

The second meeting, scheduled for March 7, will be devoted to firmly isolating a set of problems to be addressed by working groups formed from those who attend.  Participants were encouraged to identify and recruit others who may be interested in adding to future discussions on the topic.  The organizers hope to present five additional community meetings over the course of the next several months, culminating in a project that will spread awareness and involvement across the valley.

According to the organizers, the turnout in Oneida County was higher than they often experience, and they were encouraged at the level of interest and dedication on the part of the community.  It was also noted that groups such as the Interfaith Council represent a more unified approach to community involvement than is sometimes seen in other communities.  This meeting was held in the conference room of the Event Center, though in the event that the next meeting is even better attended, the organizers suggested that they would be more than happy to expand into the general arena area of the Center should they need to.

“This is great,” Henderson said.  “We’re really excited to see everyone out today, and we hope to see even more next time!”