Rural communities in the U.S. face multiple mental health challenges, with lack of accessible, acceptable services, skepticism towards those outside the community, and stigma towards help-seeking. Mobilizing rural communities to address mental health may be possible if facilitated by a trusted local organization such as Cooperative Extension Service (Extension). Extension promotes community wellbeing through evidencebased programming, extending the reach of land grant universities to local communities. Extension offices are deeply embedded in their communities; personnel are well-known and local residents. In this article we propose a novel model for Extension offices as a trusted place for mental health resource, service, and advocacy hubs, available and accessible to all diverse members of rural communities. Using Social Ecological Theory, we provide examples of how Extension can serve as an integrated hub to help rural communities meet their mental health needs and can be partners and collaborators with mental health providers/ agencies.
Maria Bowie, DrPH, serves as the grant management specialist for University of Georgia Cooperative Extension on the Athens Campus. Her work and most recent research focuses on emergency preparedness, farm and rural stress/suicide prevention, opioid misuse prevention, and vaccine education. Maria completed her doctorate in public health in 2020 and also has a Master’s in public administration and Bachelor’s in Education, all from UGA. She has worked with UGA Extension for over 20 years in a variety of roles, including serving as a 4-H/youth development Extension agent, UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences marketing and communications director, Walk Georgia program director, and employee recruitment and internship coordinator, and grant specialist.
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