Mercer University School of Medicine’s Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC) and Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance (GAWA) recently partnered with Fort Valley State University’s (FVSU) Extension Service to bring mental health and well-being training programs to extension agents, educators, farmers, agribusiness professionals and nonprofit organization personnel from across the state.
Hosted at Fort Valley State University’s Agricultural Technology Conference Center on June 29, 2026, the program featured presentations in several formats on a variety of topics for more than 50 participants.
John McElveen, Ed.D., director of GAWA, and ChaNaé Bradley, Ph.D., assistant director of community development and outreach for FVSU Extension, led a program on how to have critical conversations with friends, neighbors and family members they may be concerned about because of stress or mental health challenges.
Presented through an agricultural and community-focused training program called COMET (Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory), participants received guidance and information through conversational scenarios that emulated real-life interactions with community members exhibiting signs of chronic or acute stress. COMET provides a structured approach that teaches participants how to listen effectively and show care appropriately for people experiencing stress and mental health challenges, and facilitate connections with community resources and providers.
“Fort Valley State University’s Cooperative Extension Program hosted the mental wellness training because it aligns with the unique land-grant mission of providing information to help community members solve challenges through practical solutions. Farm stress, suicide and mental health challenges are on the rise in rural communities,” Dr. Bradley said. “This often-overlooked audience is a primary focus for FVSU Extension, whose clientele consists of farmers, rural and urban youth, veterans, seniors and families. I was motivated to become a COMET trainer to advocate for the value and importance of teaching people how to have necessary and sometimes uncomfortable conversations. COMET could be a lifesaver. As an Extension leader, I saw it as an opportunity to help mitigate mental health concerns in our communities.”
Participants also received Community Resiliency Model (CRM) training. Led by Mercedes Madrid-Lowery, LCSW, and Joye Simmons, clinical behavioral mental health specialists with GRHIC. The training provided participants with simple stress management techniques that are adaptable and relevant for community members of all ages. Through the techniques learned, participants can better understand the acute and long-term sources of stress, recognize symptoms of stress in the moment and better manage that stress. Once learned, CRM techniques allow participants to equip others in their lives with these simple tools.
Participants also received an outdoor demonstration from AgrAbility featuring adaptive farm equipment that allows farmers with physical disabilities and other mobility challenges to continue farming.
Dr. McElveen said, “Partnering with FVSU Extension to present these training programs provided not only a unique opportunity that advanced the missions of FVSU Extension, Mercer University School of Medicine, the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center and the Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance, but also fulfilled the intent of a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) grant aimed at enhancing resilience in Georgia’s rural farming communities through mental health support and education. Farming communities are second to none when it comes to caring about their friends and neighbors and, when equipped with the knowledge to do so, acting in a caring, responsible and effective manner, connecting community members with the help they need.”