Shout it from the mountaintops: The AgriStress Helpline — a free, confidential hotline intended to get help fast to farmers, ranchers, foresters and other natural-resource workers facing crises — is up and running.

The Chieftain has written about the AgriStress Helpline before, but now we can spread the good news: As of Sept. 1, Oregon residents can call the line. Here’s the number: 833-897-2474. It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via call or text. The voice line can be accessed in up to 160 languages, with the help of interpreters, and the text line services English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

The hotline is dedicated to serving Oregon’s natural-resource communities, including farmers, farm workers, ranchers, foresters and their families. The people answering the calls have completed 300 hours of professional development, including an overview of state-specific agricultural contexts and ongoing quarterly training in agricultural stress topics.

All AgriStress Helpline calls are answered in 30 seconds or less, and all callers are screened for the risk of suicide. Intervention occurs for people at imminent risk. Others are offered relevant resources. All callers are offered a 24-hour follow-up call, also through the AgriStress Helpline. 

Senate Bill 955, sponsored by Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, and Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, among other lawmakers, allocated $300,000 to establish an endowment for Oregon State University’s Extension Service to implement and operate the line in Oregon; six other states are part of the AgriStress Helpline network. Wallowa County Commissioner Todd Nash, who also serves as president of the Oregon Cattleman’s Association, and Allison Myers of OSU also were key players in getting the 2023 Legislature to sign off on this initial investment.

For a relatively isolated county like Wallowa — in the northeast corner of a state that has a rate of death by suicide that has been higher than the national average for more than two decades — the advent of the helpline is terrific news, especially when you consider that farmers, ranchers and foresters are people who tend to internalize the pressures and stresses they face. The rate of suicide for farmers is 3½ times higher than the national average per capita.

Being able to immediately access someone who knows something about the pressures facing natural-resource workers — and can connect a caller with resources — literally is a lifesaver. 

The work isn’t done. OSU’s Myers and her colleagues need to spread the word statewide about the helpline; with its deep roots in rural Oregon, Extension is a natural for that task.

And that $300,000 initial investment doesn’t pay the entire bill. The cost of connecting to the helpline is about $70,000 a year. Efforts are underway to take that $300,000 and build an endowment of about $2 million; that should be sufficient to run the helpline in perpetuity. Helpline advocates are notching some early fundraising successes.

But the state should finish the job. $2 million is a shockingly small investment in a program that’s guaranteed to save lives for many years running. When the Legislature next meets, it should take action to fully fund the endowment up to the $2 million mark. It will be the best single investment made in that legislative session.

You’ll be able to read more about the AgriStress Helpline in Wednesday’s edition of the Chieftain, but we’ve got another packed edition planned for readers, including these stories:

• The Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness has landed a zero-suicide grant that will help it expand its offerings to veterans.

• You’ll meet Dan Grigg, the new CEO at Wallowa Memorial Hospital.

• As it prepares for the Sept. 30 grand reopening of its library, the Flora School has won a grant to help build an elevated wheelchair ramp to ease access issues.

• Michael Lockhart, who has served previously on the Joseph City Council, is back on the council.

• And I’m going to try to squeeze in a fun feature from my colleague Bennett Hall at the Blue Mountain Eagle about one of the first hikers to traverse the entire Blue Mountains Trail, a 530-mile spiral that starts in Joseph and ends in John Day. (Although you could also start in John Day, as this hiker did.)

All of this is part of our continuing efforts to cover Wallowa County news to the best of our ability. As always, if you have a comment or question about the Chieftain, or want to suggest a story idea, email me at mmcinally@wallowa.com.

If you haven’t already, take a moment to register your subscription for digital access of the Chieftain. Call 541-963-3161 to talk to one of our customer service staff, who will be happy to walk you through the process. It’s easy, takes just a few moments to get set up and allows you to take advantage of our e-edition, app and website delivery along with your print subscription.

Finally, let me take this opportunity to once again thank the Chieftain’s subscribers: We simply would be unable to do this vital work without your support.

Mike McInally is the editor of the Wallowa County Chieftain. You can email him at editor@wallowa.com or mmcinally@wallowa.com.