Ever wonder whom the men and women are that bring food for our tables everyday? Yes you might have guessed it… farm workers. On average, farm workers only make about $7,500 a year, not much compensation considering the often back-breaking work they do. The workers’ low incomes are a source of stress and anxiety for many who are struggling to meet the high cost of living the United States. Also, the meager earnings mean many individuals go without badly needed health services to address physical and mental health needs.

Recently, the Monterey County Behavioral Health Division (http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/health/BehavioralHealth/) sponsored a workshop in Salinas, CA in conjunction with the California Policy Research Center, to bring together community members, social workers, migrant education staff, and other service providers to discuss the situation of farm workers living with mental disabilities, and the effects of the disabilities on their everyday lives.

One of the topics they discussed was the fact that people are not being treated. Many times farm workers do not have the insurance coverage they need to obtain appropriate mental health services. Therefore, their disabilities often go undiagnosed and untreated.

Among many individuals, mental health is a sensitive topic they choose not to discuss. Octavio, a Salinas-based farm worker and workshop participant, shared his thoughts about depression and mental health issues in the farm worker community.

After taking a while to collect his thoughts Octavio stated in Spanish, “You know, we don’t talk about those things at work or at home because no one wants to be criticized or to be called crazy.”

Jesse Herrera, a licensed social worker with the County, mentioned that everyday stress is an issue that many people don’t consider a mental health disorder. Nevertheless, stress is a factor because it can alter an individual’s thought process, mood and behavior.

A study conducted by the California Institute for Rural Studies found that 80 percent of the agricultural workers acknowledge the need for relief from stress and anxiety. Twenty-two percent of respondents reported loss of motivation or feelings of depression so severe that it affected their ability to work (http://www.cirsinc.org).

The Monterey County Behavioral Health Division and the Central Coast Center for Independent Living are part of an organized regional effort to get medical and mental health services to farm workers and other Latinos with disabilities in Monterey County and surrounding areas.

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