THE Coffee Break PROJECT

Southeast Colorado ranchers find support over a cup of coffee and learn how to help others who may be struggling with mental health.

- Lisa Foust Prater

Small Groups, Big Outcomes

The smell of fresh coffee wafts through a friendly meeting room overlooking a busy street in Rocky Ford, Colorado. A plate of glazed doughnuts sits on the table. The welcoming space features a large, rectangular table, comfortable chairs, plants, notice boards, and dozens of wooden plaques emblazoned with the brands of several local ranchers.

Some of the men and women behind those brands make the drive to town on a Monday morning. They grab a mug of coffee and a doughnut, greet each other warmly, laugh, and talk about the things ranchers talk about: the weather, cattle prices, and what's going on in town.

As the conversation drifts into more serious topics, such as loan payments, succession planning, and the stress caused by forces they can't control, the ranchers open up, listen, and lean on each other. They talk openly about depression. They share their feelings. They ask how they can help.

This isn't just an ordinary coffee shop. It's The Coffee Break Project.

Response to a Tragic Situation

In the High Plains around Rocky Ford, cattle outnumber people 7-to-1. Ranchers often live miles from their nearest neighbors. That isolation contributes to a suicide rate among American farmers and ranchers that is 3.5 times higher than the general population, according to the nonprofit National Rural Health Association.

In 2018, four men with ties to Kiowa County, just northeast of Rocky Ford, died by suicide.

Three of the deaths occurred within two weeks. A local journalist asked J.C. Carrica what he planned to do about it. Carrica is vice president of ValleyWide Health Systems, a nonprofit providing physical and behavioral health care services to rural communities across southeastern Colorado.