Keep Free Counseling for Michigan Farmers

The Issue

No Farmer Should Face a Crisis Alone. Fund Counseling Now.

Michigan farmers have lost free counseling again. Farmers feed us. Right now, many of them are struggling just to hold on. The one free counseling program built for them ran out of money at the end of September.

Michigan farm workers die by suicide at more than five times the state rate. In 2023, 11 people working in farming, forestry, and fishing in Michigan died by suicide. Experts believe the real number is higher. Some deaths are recorded as accidents.

Farm families are under heavy pressure. Fewer than half of Michigan's 44,000 farms made a profit in 2023. Fuel and fertilizer costs keep rising. Many families are fighting to keep land that has been theirs for generations. Many farmers also have no insurance that covers mental health care. Some have no insurance at all.

MSU Extension's Managing Farm Stress program gives farmers free counseling. Since 2020, it has paid for about 550 therapy visits. It has reached more than 10,000 people across the state. Last year, it cost the state $112,000.

Last fall, the state cut that funding. Farmers suddenly had to pay about $150 an hour for therapy. Many stopped going.

In March, a one year federal grant brought the program back. Farmers came back with it. That grant ended in September, and and farmers have lost this help again. Unless Michigan steps in, it stays gone.

"It literally saves lives," program director Remington Rice told Bridge Michigan.

Lawmakers from both parties already agree. State Rep. Matthew Bierlein, a Republican, and State Rep. Jasper Martus, a Democrat, have asked for this funding to be restored and made permanent. Now they need to hear from all of us.

We're asking Governor Whitmer and the Michigan Legislature to:

Restore funding for the Managing Farm Stress program now, so counseling doesn't stop.
Add permanent funding to the state budget every year, so farmers never face this gap again.
$112,000 is a tiny part of the state budget. For a farmer in crisis, it can mean the difference between reaching out and going without help.

Please sign and share. Then take one more minute to contact your state representative. You can find yours at house.mi.gov.

Why this matters to me

Learning about this program is what inspired me to start PallyWally.org. It stuck with me that farmers were finally getting help, and then the help almost disappeared. No one should lose support because of funding gaps, where they live, or what they can afford.

So I built PallyWally.org, a free platform that helps people find food banks, housing help, health care, mental health support, and job tools in plain language. It's open 24/7, and no sign-up is needed. PallyWally doesn't replace programs like Managing Farm Stress. It helps people find them, and everything else they need to get back on their feet.

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988. It's free, confidential, and open 24/7.

Lianne Fan
Founder, PallyWally.org

Email: liannefan@pallywally.org

Connect me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liannefan/

Follow PallyWally on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pallywallyai/ and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/pallywally where we keep spreading awareness and sharing resources.

Sources