R.I. program targets high-stress industries with 'significant occupational hazards'
By Bonnie Phillips / ecoRI News
staff
Until recently, there were few ways workers in these
industries — which have long working hours, often in isolation — could access
support, whether financial, emotional, or physical. A new initiative, Land & Sea Together, is working to
change that.
“Farmers and fishermen are among the professions most likely to commit suicide each year, and many more folks suffer silently as they tend their crops, equipment, and vessels,” according to the organization’s website. Land & Sea aims to “reduce stress and build mental and financial resilience in the fisheries, forestry and farming communities” by building a collaborative network of support services.
The USDA-funded program, operated through the Rhode
Island Department of Environmental Management and implemented by the
Warwick-based Center for Collaboration and Mediation RI, was started in June
2022 with an initial $500,000 USDA grant, spurred by the recognition that
workers and stakeholders in the state’s farming, forestry, and fishing
industries are experiencing stress at high levels with little recourse.
“Agriculture, fisheries, and logging are high-stress,
high-risk industries with significant occupational hazards,” said Laurel Witri,
former director of the Land & Sea Together program. “The work is physically
and mentally demanding. … We felt that we could make a difference in bringing
together a network to support these communities who tend our land and feed our
families.”
Difficult jobs
To better understand the communities it wanted to help,
Land & Sea put together a comprehensive needs assessment,
released last December. For the 90-page report, L&ST studied existing data
on the FFF industries in Rhode Island; surveyed individuals working in the
industries about stressors; and convened a focus group of workers/owners in the
industries.
The resulting report made it clear how difficult it is to
be a farmer, fisherman, or forestry worker in Rhode Island.
Across the three industries, the main causes of stress
were similar: financial management concerns; small-business operations; impacts
of climate change; the inability to control the weather; labor shortages;
succession planning; lack of access to resources; transportation barriers;
housing challenges; longer working hours and increased workloads at peak times;
and compliance with government regulations, according to the report.
“Among all industries participants noted the pressure
that comes with maintaining appropriate government regulations and completing
required paperwork and documentation. With reportedly little guidance and
requirements impacted by ongoing and continuous change, this is a moving
target,” the report says.
Farmers, who often work where they live, said the lack of
separation between work and home can blur the lines of family life, which often
results in conflicts. And from spring to fall — the growing season — local
farmers are under high amounts of stress, the report says, which can be
exacerbated by the weather.
Those in the fishing industry said heavy workloads, time
pressure, lack of support due to isolated working conditions, and climate
change were their main stressors. Employers in the fishing, aquaculture, and
shellfishing industries reported difficulty hiring reliable workers, some of
which they attributed to the lack of public transportation, especially in
southern Rhode Island, and the difficulty of keeping employees during the
winter.
The forestry/agriculture sector also struggles with
hiring, according to the report, which found that Rhode Island farms only have
about 25% of the staff they need to adequately run their business.
A lack of mental health resources and a reluctance to
seek help were identified as an issue across the FFF industries. Some
employers, the report said, were unaware of available mental health resources
they could offer their employees. Others said the nature of some of the jobs —
lack of flexibility in the work schedule, uncompensated time off, and lack of
insurance — prevented workers from seeking help.
Those working in the fisheries industry, the report
found, are especially reluctant to seek help.
“Most people in sea industries view themselves as a cross
between Vikings and pirates, and they do not view themselves as people who need
help,” according to the report. “They are very tough people who think they are
made of stone.”
Employers interviewed for the report said they did not
think their employees would seek help, and said they especially watch out for
signs of concern in their younger employees.
The report suggested industry leaders should lead by
example, but also noted “many industry leaders appear to be stressed out and do
not seem to do anything constructive to manage that stress.”
Business and finance are also areas in which those
working in the FFF industries need help, according to the report. The cost of
doing business in each industry has risen, while prices for food, agriculture
products, lumber, and firewood have either stayed the same or decreased,
according to the report.
“Even though everyone is complaining about how expensive
food costs are now, the prices do not cover the actual production costs.
Product production costs are higher on small farms and the general population
is largely unwilling to pay the higher prices,” according to the report.
How it works
Land & Sea offers a 24-hour help line and up to 12
free counseling sessions with Coastline EAP, a Rhode Island-based employee
assistance program, for FFF workers and their families.
Since the launch of the program in June 2022, Witri said,
“60 farming, fisheries, and forestry workers have called for assistance,
receiving 286 hours of support with free outpatient services, financial
counseling.”
She quoted one farmer who utilized the EAP: “I was really
impressed … I’d been looking for a therapist for months and couldn’t find a
provider who would call me back, or take my heath insurance. Now I have a
therapist who can continue to see me.”
In addition to the help line and EAP support, FFF workers
can receive micro-grants for such things as child care, legal fees, tax
services, and wellness services like massage therapy and gym memberships, Witri
said. More than 150 such grants have been given out so far, she added.
A particular area of concern for farmers, including
shellfish farmers, is succession planning — who will take over the farm for the
next generation. Land & Sea offers farm succession and transition planning
support.
“We have helped shellfish businesses transfer between
generations,” Witri said.
The organization also helps mediate disputes between
farmers and their neighbors. A recent webinar by Land & Sea and the Center
for Collaboration and Mediation RI offered tips to help resolve conflict in the
aquaculture industry, which often hears complaints from neighbors who don’t
like seeing the equipment marring their view of the water or resent having to
share their recreation area with shellfishermen.
Julia Bancroft, who recently replaced Witri as director
of Land & Sea, had a ready checklist to offer aquaculture farmers on how to
avoid conflict in the proposal stages: “Be prepared … have plans, map, make
proposal details available. Pictures are helpful. Practice what you’re going to
say. Don’t use abrasive language. Be open and approachable. Educate and be
specific: type of gear, what will be visible, operation times, seasonal
changes. Offer a farm tour.”
She added, “Land & Sea Together can step in as a
third party if tempers rise.”
Land & Sea also connects FFF workers with nonprofit
organizations such as the Carrot Project, which
offers financial planning and bookkeeping workshops for agriculture businesses,
and Farm Commons, which offers legal resources
for farmers.
Since 2021, when the USDA Farm and Ranch Stress
Assistance Network announced $500,000 in funding per state, 48 out of 50 states
have established programs. Because the Center for Collaboration and Mediation
RI is the USDA’s certified agriculture mediation program, it made sense that it
should lead the initiative, Witri said.
Rhode Island’s program is unique in that it includes
fisheries and aquaculture, she said.
Witri said future federal funding is uncertain, as it is
linked to the passage of the 2023 farm bill.
“Given that time and uncertainty, we are looking for
additional funding,” she said. “Given the sensitive nature of mental health,
most of what we do is build relationships that require trust. It is critical
that we continue to consistently fund and evaluate the facets to our
programming that give farmers, fishers, and foresters access to mental health
services and other resources addressing root causes of stress.”
The free, confidential help line with Coastal EAP is
1-800-445-1195, and support is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and
Cape Verde Creole. The National Suicide and Crisis Hotline is 988, available by
call or text.
