Community, Conversation, and Coffee Help Ranchers Heal

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 Valley-Wide Health Systems, a nonprofit providing physical and behavioral health care services to rural communities across southeastern Colorado.

Carrica developed an ag advisory committee to address rural stress in the area. Jennifer Pollmiller, director of public affairs and community outreach for Valley-Wide, is a member. She said the committee acknowledged the stigma surrounding mental health. “We knew we probably weren’t going to get farmers and ranchers to walk through the doors of the mental health center,” she said.

The committee decided to implement the Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory (COMET) method, developed by the High Plains Research Network, a project of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. It teaches people how to reach out to someone having a difficult time and help them shift toward wellness and away from a mental health crisis. COMET was created with rural communities in mind.

In a two-hour session, COMET trainees learn how to observe others and notice early when something isn’t right. It demonstrates how to start a conversation in a supportive way, with a seven-question guide, and offers resources to share if someone needs additional help.

Promoting Firearm Safety

Partnering with the Colorado Gun Shop Project from the state’s department of public health gave the committee another way to help farmers and ranchers. 

In 2021, 56.7% of male and 30.7% of female suicide deaths in Colorado occurred by discharge of a firearm, according to the state health department. Still, many gun owners are hesitant to call the authorities if they’re suicidal because of laws that allow the court to remove firearms from those considered a danger to themselves or others.

The Gun Shop Project puts time and distance between a suicidal person and their firearms by providing options for temporary storage of guns outside the home, including local gun clubs, emergency responders, firearm retailers, and veterans’ groups. “It’s a safe way to turn guns over for safe off-site storage without having to get law enforcement involved,” Carrica said. “Then, that fear of losing their firearms isn’t a barrier for people to access care.”

The committee called on local businesses to host COMET training sessions for employees and community members and to promote the Gun Shop Project. They engaged chiropractors, bankers, and others who regularly interact with farmers and ranchers. Since many of the resulting conversations happened over a cup of coffee, the movement was named The Coffee Break Project (thecoffeebreakproject.org).

More Than Just Coffee

The community took notice and supported the committee’s efforts. Thanks to grants from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the USDA, the High Plains Research Network, and the Colorado Department of Agriculture, programming kept growing, and The Coffee Break Project opened a brick-and-mortar location in Rocky Ford in 2023.

Hanna Bates, the agricultural outreach coordinator for Valley-Wide, has an office in the building and manages efforts at the site, in addition to being a rancher. She hosts the coffee groups every Monday and Wednesday morning, meets one-on-one with locals throughout the week, and matches people with resources they need. She also hosts COMET training for coffee regulars and others throughout the community and beyond. “At any given time at the table, 50% of us are COMET trained,” she said. 

While The Coffee Break Project was started specifically for farmers and ranchers, it is open to anyone living in the area. “It really turned into a little community here,” Bates said. “We have a couple of gentlemen who are unable to drive, so members who come in for coffee volunteer to take them to places they need to go, and that gives them the friendship and peer-to-peer contact we need in this rural community. It’s very lonely and secluded sometimes.” 

“This place wouldn’t run without Hanna,” said Ernie Coca, a veteran who talked openly about his struggle with depression since losing his wife. He learned about The Coffee Break Project through his volunteer work at the V.A. “We’re united as a family,” he said.

Breaking the Stigma

Because a barber shop, massage therapist, T-shirt shop, computer access, housing information, employment help, and other resources are also available in the building, Bates said there’s less stigma associated with being seen there. “There was a gentleman that would park two blocks over and a block down and would walk to our facilities,” she said. “Now, with all the other services we offer, it’s all right for him to park in front because nobody knows what he’s coming in for. It might be for mental health resources, a haircut, or just a cup of coffee.”

Lorin Adams was a regular at coffee when he suffered a stroke. Members of the group drove him to doctor appointments and encouraged him throughout his recovery. “They loved me through it,” he said.

His wife, Kimberly, started driving him to coffee after the stroke and has since adjusted her work schedule so she can attend on a regular basis. “This group is fundamental in our lives now,” Loren said. “There’s a positive energy here that fills a void a lot of people have.”

Rancher Erik Tucker is another regular. “I had issues with anxiety and depression for a long time,” he said. “This place was a lifesaver for me.”

Tucker hosts a weekly local radio show, ReThink Ranching, where he discusses soil health, grazing, and ranch management with guests. “I needed to figure out how to fix the land, and started to fix myself too,” he said.

A Model to Duplicate

The Coffee Break Project team members have shared their experience with several small towns around Colorado and one in Nebraska, laying the groundwork for those communities to establish their own programs.

“I think the best part about The Coffee Break Project is the concept could really work anywhere. You can take the idea of having a safe gathering space where resources are distributed, and it can be applicable to any community,” Pollmiller said. “We were very fortunate to receive the grant funding to help us open a brick-and-mortar, but there are a lot of community spaces that could be used to make this model work.”

Rancher Tom Case is thankful for the program and said other communities could benefit from a similar group. “The folks at The Coffee Break Project have become friends and confidants. It’s always better to have people in your corner, and they seem to provide a boost when needed,” he said. “I couldn’t do this without them, and I would do anything for them as well.”

Friendship in Action

Before coffee time winds down and the ranchers head back to work, plans for the day and week are discussed. One needs to pick something up in Pueblo, 50 miles away. Another has an errand to run there, too. They decide to ride together and get lunch while they’re at it. 

Everyone agrees to call on some friends who didn’t make it this morning, just to check in. They are living The Coffee Break Project’s motto: “Do you look after your neighbors as close as your crop or herd?”