Broadband, mental health crucial to state, says lieutenant governor

INDIANAPOLIS — It is farmers who are making Indiana’s economy tick, said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch at the Indiana Farm Bureau State Convention.

“You’re feeding Hoosiers. You are feeding people in our country and people around the world,” said the state’s secretary of agriculture.

“You are just everyday people who have jobs to do and you get up and you do them, but let me tell you that you are the most important people in Indiana and in Indiana’s economy because you are providing the fuel and the fiber and the food that feeds America and feeds Hoosiers.”

“For that, I am so grateful, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she said, garnering applause.

“You are the ones that are innovating, you are the ones that are trailblazing and you are the ones that are leading Indiana.”

Broadband

Farmers in Indiana are realizing their economic potential, but they will be able realize it even more once every Hoosier is connected to the internet, the lieutenant governor said to more applause.

“We have already invested $268 million to expand broadband throughout Indiana, and that money is going to connect an additional 75,000 Hoosier families and businesses — but it’s not enough, because I know there are some of you in this room that are struggling every day to have that connection,” she said.

“So, please know that OCRA, the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, that I oversee, is totally dedicated to making sure that every Hoosier is connected.”

Access to broadband will help keep young people on the farm and unlock economic opportunity in rural Indiana, Crouch said.

“It is so encouraging and I’m so optimistic about the future of Indiana and for the future of agriculture, because we are leading the way and we are making a difference,” she said.

Mental Health

Exacerbated by the pandemic, mental illness and addiction continues to be a challenge in Indiana, the lieutenant governor lamented.

“There were a lot of bad things that came from COVID. One of the bad things is we all suffered a mental health challenge. It might have been fear or uncertainty or isolation or depression,” she said.

“But one of the good things is we all went through that, so today there is more of a sense of urgency to do something, to be able to be sure we have the resources and we get the resources to those who are struggling and we remove the stigma so that we all realize that it’s OK to not be OK all the time.”

Crouch noted the Indiana State Department of Agriculture received a federal grant to go into rural communities and share information about resources and how to recognize the signs when someone is struggling.

“It is something that we all have to be joined together doing because it affects every aspect of our lives, it affects our families, it affects our workforce, it affects our budgets, whether they’re in the public or the private sector,” she said.

One out of five Hoosiers struggles with mental illness or addiction, the lieutenant governor said.

“We have to be able to give Hoosiers the cards they need to play in order to be successful,” she said.

Farmers are viewed as strong, stoic, optimistic and able to see that there is a brighter tomorrow, Crouch said.

“But let’s all recognize that in this room one out of five of us struggles and let’s be sure that we’re all educated and we’re all able to help,” she said.

Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives workshops are scheduled Jan. 18 at the Jackson County Community Foundation in Seymour, Feb. 15 at the Firemen’s Building in Warsaw and Feb. 22 at Ivy Tech Community College in Logansport.

Register for these sessions for free at: www.indianaruralhealth.org/events.

“I am extremely optimistic about the future of agriculture in Indiana,” Crouch said. “I stand here committed to doing whatever I can to ensure that agriculture leads the way in Indiana and to assist and to help with the initiatives that the Farm Bureau has because you are making a difference.”