What if the most effective solution to addiction, mental health crises, and repeat ER visits isn't another program—but someone who's been there before? In this episode of Rural Builds, host Rob Birdman Hephner sits down in Tucson, Arizona, with Richard Sandoval, Senior Director of Community Programs at Hope Incorporated, for a powerful conversation about peer support, recovery, and what works in rural communities.

Sandoval explains how Hope Incorporated meets people where they are—inside jails, emergency rooms, hospitals, shelters, and on the streets—by using peer support rooted in lived experience. From mental health challenges to substance use recovery, the organization focuses on building trust and connection with individuals who often feel written off by traditional systems.

The episode dives deep into why rural areas face unique challenges: fewer treatment beds, limited transportation, staffing shortages, and a lack of nearby resources. Sandoval shares how introducing peer support in rural Arizona communities—like the White Mountains and Show Low—led to dramatic results, including reduced ER readmissions and more than $8 million in healthcare cost savings over 18 months for a single hospital system.

Beyond the data, this conversation explores why peer support de-escalates crisis situations, how stigma around mental health mirrors outdated thinking about physical health, and why recovery is never a straight line. Sandoval's personal journey—from Veterans Treatment Court participant to senior leadership—brings the mission full circle, proving that hope isn't abstract. It's built through relationships, consistency, and people who refuse to give up on others.

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Sitgreaves Community Development Corporation

What happens when unresolved trauma goes untreated in rural communities—and what does it really take to rebuild hope? In this episode of Rural Builds, host Rob Birdman Hephner speaks with Jonathan Brunson at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York about the realities of mental health, poverty, and resilience in rural North Carolina.

Brunson is a board member with the Rural Opportunity Institute and the founder of Unafraid to Be Gifted. His work focuses on identifying and addressing unresolved trauma in young people—especially youth of color—in rural counties like Edgecombe, Wilson, and Tarboro. Drawing from experience in classrooms, community spaces, and grassroots organizing, Brunson explains how trauma often shows up as behavior, discipline issues, substance use, or hopelessness when the root causes go unaddressed.

The conversation explores how historic flooding, housing instability, food insecurity, lack of transportation, and limited economic opportunity compound mental health challenges in rural areas. Brunson shares why trust is the biggest barrier to change, how meeting people where they are builds credibility, and why culturally grounded outreach—like community events, barbershop conversations, and youth-centered spaces—can succeed where traditional systems fail.

More than a discussion of problems, this episode highlights the power of service, humility, and presence. From suicide prevention to youth mentorship, Brunson's story shows how one committed individual—and the right partnerships—can help rural communities move from trauma toward healing.

RURAL BUILDS is brought to you by Birdman Media™ and supported by the following sponsors;

Please visit their sites for more information and support them when you can.

Sitgreaves Community Development Corporation

What really shapes a person's health—and why does medical care account for only a small piece of the outcome? In this episode of Rural Builds, host Rob Birdman Hephner sits down at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with Aaqil Khan, a rural systems builder working at the intersection of technology, healthcare, and community change.

Khan shares his work with Collectively, an AI-driven company focused on improving financial health literacy and patient billing experiences, alongside his passion project, Connected Communities—a three-county coalition in Northwest Illinois addressing substance use disorder, food insecurity, and housing stability. Together, they break down what "social determinants of health" really mean in everyday terms: housing, food access, transportation, education, and the ongoing stress caused by instability.

The conversation traces how efforts to address substance use disorder led upstream to deeper root causes like childhood trauma, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and lack of social connection. Khan explains how recovery housing, sober living homes, community fridges, and recovery-friendly workplaces are all connected—and why housing, transportation, and employment form the foundation for lasting recovery and economic stability.

This episode also takes on stigma head-on, emphasizing why language matters, how data helps communities understand impact, and why building trust among local stakeholders is the hardest—and most important—work. It's a grounded, practical conversation about empathy, systems thinking, and how rural communities can build healthier futures by seeing the whole person, not just the problem.

RURAL BUILDS is brought to you by Birdman Media™ and supported by the following sponsors;

Please visit their sites for more information and support them when you can.

Sitgreaves Community Development Corporation

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