Coalition says outreach to agricultural communities must "meet people where they are" after mixed results

Jamie Herst, host and presenter and staff with Tri County Health Network, told the Colorado Agricultural Behavioral Health Working Group that efforts to reach farming and ranching communities across six Western Colorado counties have produced mixed results and require tailored, community‑led approaches.

Herst said the coalition’s local network, called Spark (Suicide Prevention Awards and Recovery Coalition), serves six counties on Colorado’s Western Slope and has documented 181 deaths by suicide in the region from 2020 through 2024. "Voy a hablar un poco acerca de nuestros esfuerzos de alcanzar esta comunidad, que ha funcionado y que no ha funcionado," she said, summarizing months of outreach experiments.

Why it matters: Working with agricultural and rural populations requires different tactics than typical public‑health campaigns, Herst and other attendees said. The group cited persistent barriers including social isolation, stigma, low local provider capacity, and a shortage of Spanish‑speaking and male therapists — all factors that limit the effectiveness of one‑size‑fits‑all interventions.

What organizers tried and why some efforts failed

Herst reviewed multiple outreach tests. The team ran four separate iterations of a coffee‑talk model — advertised widely in flyers, social media and through local businesses and co‑ops — but "nobody came," she said. The coalition also tried a Farm Talk series and locally hosted trainings at different days and times; despite heavy promotion and help from local champions, attendance remained negligible.

By contrast, Herst said, stationary resource tables at events where people already gather produced more sustained conversations. At a two‑day table at a Gun Club show in late September, staff and volunteers engaged residents who disclosed family losses to suicide and described personal crises — conversations that did not occur at the advertised coffee talks. "Entre más tiempo estuvimos ahí, la gente más estuvo compartiendo que esto sucedía en la comunidad," she said.

Trusted messengers and nonclinical messaging

Coalition members stressed that trusted local messengers — people known in their county or community — are critical. Herst described a strategy of identifying who those messengers are in each county and sharing simple, nonclinical materials (calendars, postcards, contact cards) that normalize talking about mental health and provide direct crisis contacts. She said the coalition is piloting a social‑norms campaign called "We Are the 11" to encourage small, community‑level actions to check on neighbors.

Firearms and safety conversations

Speakers discussed the role of firearms in rural suicide prevention and said the coalition is attempting culturally sensitive conversations about safe storage. "Si 1 ya dice pistola, la gente dice ya no estoy de acuerdo contigo. Y yo lo que quiero es que no te dispares en un momento de crisis," Herst said, noting that conversations must be handled by trusted partners and framed around safety rather than policy.

Language, workforce and youth engagement

Julissa Soto, identified in the meeting as a suicide‑prevention commissioner and Tri County Health Network board member, emphasized Spanish‑language outreach and offered collaboration on Spanish programming. Kaylee Castle of the Office of Suicide Prevention confirmed existing contracts and partnerships with local grantees and said the office supports the coalition’s work.

The group also discussed outreach to young people through FFA, 4‑H, extension agents and new farmer programs; attendees described pilot efforts to incorporate behavioral‑health literacy into agricultural education but said systematic services for youth producers remain limited.

Takeaways and next steps

Presenters recommended: prioritize long‑term relationship building with local champions; embed resources at events and businesses farmers already use; expand Spanish‑language and male clinician capacity where possible; continue piloting multiple tactics and track what works by county. Herst said the coalition will continue mapping trusted messengers and refining tactics rather than relying on a single model.

Provenance: The article summarizes Jamie Herst’s presentation and the Q&A documented in the group transcript between 00:09:53 and 00:40:28.