Southern University program addresses rural mental health barriers

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Suicide rates are 50 percent higher in rural areas than urban ones, according to the National Rural Health Association, mostly due to unique challenges people face in accessing care. Southern University’s AG Center is working to bridge those gaps through a specialized program.

“It’s not just that they don’t have the mental health professionals in their areas, which that is a burden in the state of Louisiana altogether, is that we just have a lack of mental health professionals, but also they lack digital literacy. They lack broadband connection,” said Jasmin Matthews, Assistant Public Health Specialist with the Southern University AG Center.

Program targets rural barriers

Matthews said the stigma around receiving mental health care is worse in rural communities