Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Chelsea Young
Major Program: Substance Use and Mental Health - FCS
According to the 2022 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 7.3 million rural adults reported having a mental health challenge. Suicide rates in Kentucky and our nation have continued to rise since 2003. In general, Kentucky suicide mortality rates are 17% to 27% higher than those in the rest of our nation. People are dying by suicide more frequently in Kentucky. Due to these alarming statistics, the eight-county northern Kentucky area family and consumer sciences agents prov
Author: Kate Thompson
Major Program: Substance Use and Mental Health - FCS
Farmers and farmworkers consistently report high levels of stress associated with commodity production and rural living. The culmination of rural living, farm work, and stress is associated with elevated rates of suicide in farming occupations. The BARN: Farm Dinner Theater was developed as a strategy to address and explore the difficult topics of mental health and suicide within a rural community.UK Cooperative Extension agents from Northern Kentucky Counties recruited youth and adult participa
Author: Kristi Shive
Major Program: Substance Use and Mental Health - FCS
Quilts of Valor Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental health issues are a reality for many veterans. The mission of Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover Service Members and Veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quits of Valor. Volunteers are depended on to make the quilts that are presented to the veterans through the foundation.The Warren County Homemaker’s Stitchers Club made four quilts to donate to the Quilts of Valor Foundation. Each quilt is worth appro
Author: Cathy Sparks
Major Program: Substance Use and Mental Health - FCS
The problemKentucky Mountain Bible Training Center relies totally on volunteers and donations from the community in order for their program to succeed. They contacted me to see if I could come and teach a one hour nutrition lesson for their clients at least twice a month.The educational program responseI have been teaching lessons for four months now, using SNAP recipes. This accomplishes their goal and assists me in acquiring my SNAP hours for the year. The clients look forward to t
Author: Kenna Knight
Major Program: Substance Use and Mental Health - FCS
According to the 2022 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 7.3 million rural adults reported having a mental health challenge. Suicide rates in Kentucky and our nation have continued to rise since 2003. In general, Kentucky suicide mortality rates are 17% to 27% higher than those in the rest of our nation. People are dying by suicide more frequently in Kentucky. Due to these alarming statistics, the eight-county northern Kentucky area family and consumer sciences agents prov
Author: Elizabeth Evans
Major Program: Substance Use and Mental Health - FCS
According to the 2022 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 7.3 million rural adults reported having a mental health challenge. Suicide rates in Kentucky and our nation have continued to rise since 2003. In general, Kentucky suicide mortality rates are 17% to 27% higher than those in the rest of our nation. People are dying by suicide more frequently in Kentucky. Due to these alarming statistics, the eight-county northern Kentucky area family and consumer sciences agents prov
Author: Edith Lovett
Major Program: Substance Use and Mental Health - FCS
Today we are finding out that Gardening is not only great for producing healthy vegetables, but it is also a valuable tool for our mental and physical state of mind. Vegetable gardening not only helps to provide us with fresh vegetables, but it also allows us to be outdoors, increases our self-esteem, relieves stress in our body, helps us to feel better and provides us a tool for using our motor skills through exercising, bending up and down. Our clients that were enrolled in
Author: Kendyl Redding
Major Program: Substance Use and Mental Health - FCS
The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) created a dissonance-based body acceptance intervention referred to as the Body Project. This intervention has been shown to effectively reduce body dissatisfaction, negative mood, unhealthy dieting, and disordered eating. There is further evidence that the Body Project intervention reduces the risk of future onset of eating disorders. The Powell County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent partnered with the Powell County Middle School pr
Author: Whitney Morrow
Major Program: Substance Use and Mental Health - FCS
Coping with cumulative loss is distressing. These past few years have been upending for the many whose brains battled cognitive overload trying to process fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. The ongoing health and political crises have affected people’s mental health around the world. The effects will be long-lasting. Many people are suffering — some worse than others, depending on gender, personality, age, health, socioeconomic status, and race. Ongoing research shows that people are ex
