Sen. Ingwersen introduces bill to promote mental health and wellness in heritage industries

AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, Jan. 28, Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel, introduced a bill to promote mental health and wellness in heritage industries. LD 2144, “Resolve, to Establish a Working Group to Prioritize Wellness and Mental Health Resources for Heritage Industries,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, which the senator chairs. It seeks to create a working group that will convene and produce policy recommendations to address the mental health needs of Maine’s farmers, fishermen and loggers.

“Last year, I spoke at Maine’s first-ever forum for the health and wellness of farmers and fishermen,” said Sen. Ingwersen. “At the event, I heard about some of the challenges, including the concerning results of a survey on mental health, that these hardworking men and women face, trying to take care of their mental health — while doing physically demanding labor. Reflecting on those sobering statistics, I simply could not sit back and do nothing while the men and women who are the backbone of our state suffer in silence. When they hurt, their families hurt, too.”

As proposed, the working group would include members from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; the Department of Health and Human Services; the Department of Marine Resources; the University of Maine Cooperative Extension; the agriculture industry; the fishing industry; the forestry or logging industry; a statewide mental health services organization; an occupational health and safety organization; experts in rural public health services; and a statewide organization that delivers community services.

If approved, the working group would produce a report by Dec. 1, 2026. It would authorize the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; the Committee on Health and Human Services; and the Committee on Marine Resources to submit legislation to the 133rd Maine Legislature in 2027.

Recently, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension conducted a survey, revealing that 61% of respondents from agriculture, aquaculture and wild-harvest fisheries identified the need for increased public education to raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health. Suicide rates remain higher for agriculture, fishing and forestry occupation groups.

In the coming weeks, the Committee will schedule a work session for the bill.

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