MinnPost has an article today on a mental health ministry on the Iron Range…

The Hope and Trust Mental Health Support Ministry at Our Lady of Hope is in its infancy, but Dagger and the team of facilitators gathered on the seasonably cold late January night see it as a necessary tool for the greater Iron Range and beyond to open the doors for people to discuss mental health.

As barriers to accessing services continue to grind on smaller communities across Greater Minnesota, be it through a lack of nearby providers, broadband deficiencies or the stigmas of mental health care, these locally-based groups can serve as a soft landing spot for those seeking help.

Mental health ministries are separate from professional services and don’t provide diagnoses, counseling or treatment. Instead, they are community-based support groups operated through faith organizations aimed at helping people through their struggles and connecting them with resources.

That led me to find a March 2023 policy brief from the National Association for Rural Mental Health that reported on mental health needs in Minnesota…

There is a shortage of mental health providers in rural regions of Minnesota. In rural areas of the state there are 1,960 people for each mental health provider compared to 340 people per provider in urban areas (Steiner, 2021). Availability is not the only barrier rural farmers face when seeking help for mental health conditions. Common barriers identified by rural adults are cost, accessibility, embarrassment, and stigma (American Farm Bureau). In many cases rural farmers are required to travel long distances to receive mental health services (NRHA, 2023). Telehealth is a promising solution in some cases but a lack of broadband coverage in some rural areas can be a barrier.

Part of their recommendation for better access to mental health facilities is telehealth and expansion of rural broadband.