Free Farmer & Rancher Peer Support - Rocky Ford, CO | Coffee Break Project

About This Group

The Coffee Break Project began in 2018 after Southeast Health Group (now part of Valley-Wide Health Systems) formed a local Ag Advisory Committee in response to a series of farmer and rancher suicides in rural southeast Colorado. Committee members work in agriculture themselves, and many had personally known a friend or family member lost to suicide. The project’s tagline says it plainly: “Do you look after your neighbors as close as your crop or herd?”

Ways to Find Support

Twice a week, the Coffee Break Project hosts casual coffee-and-donut gatherings in Rocky Ford where farmers and ranchers can talk amongst themselves and check in on one another, typically drawing 8 to 20 people each time. The project also trains community members in COMET (Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory), a rural-specific model for recognizing when someone is struggling and knowing how to step in as a caring neighbor rather than a clinician. Similar Coffee Connections events, based on this same model, have also been held in Routt County, Larimer County, and the Basalt/Carbondale area through the AgWell program.

Who This Is For

Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers, and the neighbors and community members who care about them, in southeast Colorado’s Arkansas Valley and beyond.

How to Join

Call Valley-Wide Health Systems at 719-254-7623 to learn about the current gathering schedule in Rocky Ford. For more free options, see the Colorado support groups directory on My Therapy Groups.