SHERIDAN — A 13-passenger van pulled into the gravel driveway of Papa Joe’s Produce in southwest Sheridan on a sunny Tuesday morning. As the farm’s official greeter, the energetic collie Rosie, runs to greet the half-dozen veterans who climb out of the van, the sentiment is clear: this isn’t a place to leave your baggage at the door. In fact, you might want to take it with you.
Since Papa Joe’s Produce began partnering with the local nonprofit At Ease Horsemanship, land near its greenhouses has become home to four saddle horses used in equine training programs for people affected by post-traumatic stress disorder. Since At Ease Horsemanship became a nonprofit in 2024, founder Matson Tew said the program has grown from just one mustang to multiple horses, and he and his staff have added additional disciplines, like gardening and Hapkido martial arts.
But horses have a bond with humans that is almost unmatched, Tew said. For people experiencing increased reactivity and fear, horses may feel like a kindred spirit. Psychologists say horses, like humans who have experienced trauma, are preoccupied with concerns of trust and safety. Creating a bond gives space for both parties to heal.
In the United States, about 13 million Americans have experienced PTSD. One in five adults experience a mental illness, and more than 88,000 adults in Wyoming have a mental health condition, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. It’s more than 14% of Wyoming’s total population.
If you ask Tew, that’s why At Ease Horsemanship still exists — because there’s more work to be done.
“The founders of this organization are all survivors… we’ve walked this walk,” Tew explained. “We fought the fight, and we realized it takes relationship, it takes connection, it takes awareness.”
Tew said he fears isolation and stigma prevent many people from getting help in the Cowboy State. So when listened to the Wyoming PBS documentary “A State of Mind,” he saw another way At Ease Horsemanship could get involved in communitywide awareness.
“We see a lot of people suffer from (mental illness),” Tew said. “They shouldn’t have to wonder what’s out there and how to get help…we’ve got a really rich community of resources.”
What will result from this idea is a partnership that stems across Sheridan, involving high school students, Sheridan College professors, restaurateurs Christer and Gina Johansson and the WYO Performing Arts and Education Center.
Tew said these groups are coming together with Wyoming PBS for a free screening of one “A State of Mind” episode featuring the story of Cody country singer Luke Bell — who battled personal struggles with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia leading up to his death in 2022. He was 32.
Tew said At Ease Horsemanship reached out to about 70 different businesses and organizations for sponsorships and promotion. He said the support has been enthusiastic, and their main goal is to spread awareness about the resources available — and show people that no one needs to make the journey to better mental health alone.
Help is out there
“I think sometimes people mistakenly think it’s too hard for people to talk about the people they’ve loved and lost,” said Luke Bell’s mother, Carol Bell. “I have to say, not talking about my son is much harder than talking about him.”
Carol Bell chooses to talk about her son — someone she describes as mischievous and funny, with a magnetic, relational personality. She even remembers him walking around an airport at two years old, searching to make friends. Connecting with others was how he thrived.
“I think that’s how he ended up in music, because you can connect with a lot of people when you’re on stage,” Carol Bell said.
Luke Bell first learned poetry from former Wyoming poet laureate David Romtvedt, who encouraged him to put his poems to music. He then moved to Austin, then New Orleans and then Nashville to pursue music and released his self-titled album in 2016.
When he was living away from his family home in Cody, Carol Bell said she’d hear from her son every day.
“He was one of those kids who would call if he was watching something on television he thought we’d enjoy. He called us while working on a little song and wanted to play it for somebody. He called if he heard a band he was excited about,” Carol Bell said.
While Luke Bell was living in Nashville, his father died. As Luke Bell’s mental condition worsened, the calls stopped coming in.
Carol Bell said no one in the family was aware of any of his mental health struggles when he was living at home. She never guessed he would later be diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder. During his worst bouts of mental illness, Carol Bell said the family struggled to enroll him in Medicare and discovered he did not qualify for the state mental health hospital.
“He would just disappear for weeks at a time and not reach out… I think when he was experiencing psychosis, he was embarrassed. He didn’t want anyone to know, so he just kind of hid out,” Carol Bell said. “Now I know that one of the early signs of mental illness is that people start to isolate (themselves) from the people who are closest to them.”
Tew said he often sees a similar form of isolation from other people struggling with mental illness and trauma.
“What stigma does is it creates social exclusion,” Tew said. “You have all these responsibilities, and you can’t admit that the trauma, depression or anxiety is destabilizing you because that’s a sign of weakness…. If you can’t talk about it with your loved ones, your families, your colleagues or your friends, then how can you possibly become aware of the resources that are available to you?”
Carol Bell partnered with Wyoming PBS to tell her son’s story because she wanted to break down this mental health stigma and empower people to seek help. Now a therapist, Carol Bell said she’s witnessed a “bizarre cultural phenomenon” of people judging others for mental illness instead of treating it like what it is: an illness.
“Throughout his journey, and especially after his death, I feel really passionate about talking openly about what happened and making sure people understand that,” Carol Bell said. “I certainly don’t feel like I have anything to be ashamed of because my son struggled with mental illness. I don’t think he has anything to be ashamed of, and I don’t want it to be a thing that our family is afraid to talk about.”
Wyoming PBS’s episode on Luke Bell’s life premiered in 2024. Since then, Joanna Kail, CEO of Wyoming PBS, said the video has been viewed 11,000 times.
The larger “A State of Mind” series began as one season and expanded to include more episodes and special segments. These stories highlight many perspectives, including the mental health struggles of prison inmates, single moms, teenagers, first responders, veterans and coal miners. Kail said another part of the series will air later this year, and deal specifically with postpartum depression.
“As (we researched) how each episode could look, we started to peel back the layers,” Kail said. “There was just much more than we realized to all these connecting pieces that caused this big issue with mental health.”
After all the research, interviews and production, Kail said her team discovered many Wyoming organizations working to provide mental health resources to the state. But that doesn’t mean answers to solve mental health in Wyoming are easy. It tends to be complicated.
“Is there a perfect solution?” Kail asked. “Not necessarily, but help is out there.”
More resources
Initiatives across Wyoming and in Sheridan look to provide mental health resources for those who may feel like they have limited options.
In summer 2026, Sheridan Memorial Hospital plans to open a new behavioral health unit. The area will include a crisis stabilization area and a pediatric unit with ligature-resistant rooms to minimize the risk of self-harm. Other organizations, including NAMI Sheridan, provide mental health education and resource guides listing all of Sheridan County’s support groups, therapists, substance abuse services and other community resources.
Statewide, the Wyoming Department of Health lists 32 mental health and substance use treatment services in the state.
Yet according to a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2025, less than a third of Wyoming’s mental health needs are being met. The state would need 41 additional practitioners to meet the demand.
“It’s a top issue,” Tew said. “We’re still really, really short on complete resources for people in need.”
This issue — and the lack of affordable care — has been on the hearts of the Bell family since before Luke Bell’s death. Since his death, his family has used the money from his music royalties to form the Luke Bell Memorial Affordable Counseling Program. Available to residents of the Bighorn Basin area, the program provides counseling for people who do not have health insurance or pay high deductibles.
Carol Bell, who also serves as a participating counselor, said the organization has been in operation for two years. In the past two months, their sessions have increased from 65 to 90 per month.
“I have clients who haven’t told anyone in their family they’re coming to therapy. (That stigma) definitely exists in Wyoming, but also… the other day I was eating at my favorite restaurant in Cody, and this young man came up to me with his parents and introduced me as his therapist proudly,” Carol Bell said. “I definitely think things are shifting, especially with the younger generation.”
Since launching “A State of Mind,” Kail said Wyoming PBS has received so many letters, calls and notes thanking the station for highlighting Wyoming’s mental health resources. She said the partnership with At Ease Horsemanship is another opportunity to promote the series that flatters and humbles the station.
“We want to see Sheridan take a lead in all of this (focus) on mental health,” Tew said. “That’s what this event is about… as survivors and providers, to also say, ‘Sheridan, we need to continue to invest.’”
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