In a recent video with the NC Farm Bureau, hog farmer Vicky Porter of Porter Farms in Cabarrus County says she wants to remove the stigma about talking about mental health.
While working on a multi-generational farm is a blessing, it also comes with it's own unique challenges. "We work where we live and we work with the people we live with, so the dining room table can be volatile...if you worked in the business sector, you [can leave] those people behind. You can't put your job aside because you can't put the people aside and just have free time."
Porter says she sought counseling after the death of her father, a decision that says made her stronger. But she acknowledges that counseling isn't for everybody. She now volunteers with the NC Agromedicine Institute Farmer to Farmer program. It's a peer support program for farmers and farm family members experiencing difficult times. Peers are farmers/farm family members or others working in agriculture that have received special training in peer support.
To request a peer farmer and/or to learn more about Farmer to Farmer, please call 252.744.1008 or email [email protected]. In the subject line, please indicate 'Farmer to Farmer Request'.
|