Immigrant workers in Colorado’s agriculture sector experience even more stress
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, 988 Lifeline for suicide and crisis Dial 988 or send a text message. spanish service are also available.
Colorado lawmakers are warning the mental health of the state’s agriculture industry, as stress, anxiety and depression among ranchers and farmworkers have emerged as serious issues and have worsened since the coronavirus pandemic. Two measures were proposed to improve resource availability.
The bills under consideration would address the growing need to treat mental health issues in rural areas, where the state has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, and which only exacerbates the effects of the pandemic and climate change. It has become. There is a shortage of mental health professionals in rural Colorado, a significant disparity given that suicide rates have been higher in rural America than in urban areas for decades.
The first bill would create an agricultural and rural behavioral health liaison position. That person will connect various state agencies with mental health providers, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders. The second bill aims to strengthen and publicize suicide prevention resources for agricultural workers.
“If a medical professional is two hours away and it takes a four- to five-hour drive in a winter snowstorm, you can’t ask for or get the help you want and need.” Contact Bill Sponsor said Republican state Sen. Perry Will. “Anything we can do to increase access to behavioral health care in rural and rural areas of Colorado is a win-win.”
The stress of working in Colorado’s agriculture sector is even greater for immigrant workers, who face language barriers and cultural biases. The 2017 Agriculture Census (updated data for 2022 will be released in mid-February) found that about 8% of Colorado farms employ Hispanic or Spanish-speaking workers. In 2022, there were more than 19,000 agricultural workers across the state.
“When you talk about emotional needs, they feel a sense of emptiness. They don’t know what to do because of this emptiness. But they feel that something is wrong.” said Elle Juarez, regional director of Project Protect Food System Workers, which works closely with immigrant families. “Loneliness, sadness, guilt, it’s so high, so high.”
Immigrant workers typically stay in Colorado for six to 10 months a year to support relatives back home. But Juarez said they often face difficult situations while in the United States. They work shifts of up to 16 hours a day, live with dozens of other people in a small apartment, and have limited communication with their families back home. In addition to the English language barrier, some workers don’t even speak Spanish, frustrating those who try to communicate in local Spanish dialects, Juarez added.
Juarez said these feelings can manifest as alcohol abuse or suicidal thoughts. She said behavioral health resources need to be built to support workers.
“Food works for us so we all have food on the table,” Juarez said. “They leave bodies in our fields to feed us.”
In addition, winter and year-round workers may only work 10 to 20 hours a week, which could mean less income, said Hunter Knapp, director of development for Project Protect Food System Workers. “Workers who are here year-round face many economic challenges and all the mental and behavioral health challenges that come with loss of income and work.”
Iliana Medina, community engagement coordinator for the nonprofit organization La Plaza, points to similar issues. Her organization works with settler and immigrant communities in Mesa County on Colorado’s Western Slope, known for its juicy, sweet Palisade peaches and local wine. “The diversity of having people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds is a bridge that needs to be built,” Medina said. “How these bills lead us is really going to be a piece of the puzzle” to benefit the Hispanic community, she added.
State Sen. Tom Sullivan, a Democrat and gun violence prevention advocate whose son Alex was killed in the 2012 Aurora movie theater massacre, sponsored the suicide prevention bill. Sullivan said he is concerned that people are more likely to take their own lives in rural areas than in urban areas.
“I just want to acknowledge that there are people out there who are struggling in these communities and let them know that if they call, there’s someone out there who will actually listen and understand their problem.” Sullivan said.
KFF Health News Ethnic Media Editor Paula Andalo contributed to this article.
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, 988 Lifeline for suicide and crisis Dial 988 or send a text message. Spanish language services also available.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues and is one of KFF’s core operating programs and an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. is. Click here for more information about KFF.
Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free morning briefings.
