Rural Connections Blog

No matter where you are in the Mississippi Delta you'll be surrounded by history, entertainment, and hospitality, but don't think for a second that one Delta town is just like the other.

Travel the roads of this region and you'll find that every stop has its own distinct individuality and character, each worthy of exploration. Blues clubs, barbecue shacks, Southern-style food, unique lodging, and a culture and history that runs deep it's hard to tell you where to begin.

The Doña Ana County is friendly, laid back, and multicultural. Our cuisine features our region’s red and green chile. We enjoy local festivals such as the Hatch Chile Festival, county fairs with 4H exhibits, and wine festivals showcasing our region’s products. Our dramatic desert and mountain scenery provides a backdrop for relaxing motorcycle rides along back roads and all forms of outdoor recreation. Spring and fall provide a great climate for strolling through our historic plazas and downtowns.

When President Biden and US Department of Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced the Rural Partners Network (RPN) in April 2022, it was unlikely they could have predicted how quickly that network would become a necessary lifeline to the communities it serves.

RPN was established to improve how the federal government serves rural communities that traditionally face challenges accessing government programs and resources. Through RPN, USDA has placed staff on the ground in 36 communities across the country to be the front door to federal resources.

One in four women Veterans who use Veterans Health Administration (VA) care live in rural areas. Rural women Veterans have unique health care needs and are more likely to use VA care compared to their urban peers. However, only 8 percent of enrolled rural Veterans are women.

The VA Women’s Health Reengagement Training (heaRT) Team is on a mission to change that statistic by offering a training program that discusses how to apply for and use VA health care so that women Veterans can access the health care. 

Prior to the pandemic, 1 in 5 school-age youth experienced serious mental health issues. During the pandemic, these numbers grew, with emergency room visits for mental health issues increasing by 24 percent among children and 31 percent among adolescents. Given this rise in mental health problems, the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory in December 2021, outlining ways to prevent and treat the mental health challenges facing youth. School-based prevention and intervention supports are part of this solution, but in rural schools, geographic isolation and limited resources make it difficult to access these services. The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences-funded National Center for Rural School Mental Health (NCRSMH) is working to address this challenge.