Category: News

NATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY WEEK: ISOLATION FOCUS

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Rural Aid invites primary producers to November webinar on loneliness

During National Psychology Week, one of Australia’s largest rural charities is inviting farmers and rural residents across the country to attend this month’s edition of the popular “On The Couch” webinar series.

Hosted each month by one of Rural Aid’s specialist counsellors, this month’s edition focuses on the topics of isolation, loneliness and being alone.

CEO of Rural Aid John Warlters says that the challenges of living a solo life are common in the agricultural sector and in rural communities. 

“There is a distinction between loneliness and being alone, and it’s important to note that many people choose isolation,” Mr Warlters said. 

“Solo living is common in our remote and rural communities, but loneliness needs to be managed. In next week’s webinar we’ll look at the ‘why’ and ‘when’ of loneliness and how to create the best of both worlds.”

Counsellor Gary Bentley will host the webinar which will be held at 6pm AEDT, 5pm AEST on 18 November. 

“There are times in our lives when we crave isolation; times when we want to remove ourselves from society; times when we want to close the door and keep the world at bay. “Me time” is important,’ Mr Bentley explained. 

“We can use “Me time” to reassess and regroup, recharge our emotional resources and refresh our spiritual strength. The problem is that isolation can become a prison of our own creation and can interfere with perspective altering the way we view our lives and the people around us.”

“The answer lies in balance: determining when isolation can tip over from self-protection to self-harm, when something that can be good for us becomes destructive.”

Any members of rural communities are welcome to attend. Attendance and comments made using the chat functionality of the webinar is strictly private and confidential.

Register here to attend the webinar: “Isolation, loneliness and being alone: The challenges of living a solo life.”
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Media enquiries: Lyndsey Douglas 0424203935  | media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au
Media spokespersons: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters – 0409 618 641 


AIMING FOR MORE THAN 38,000 CARDS TO FARMERS

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Rural Aid on track to deliver record number of festive messages to farmers

Following an emotional response from farmers in previous years, Rural Aid is repeating its Christmas Cards 4 Farmers campaign in 2020 with an aim to distribute more than 38,000 cards.

The organisation is once again asking school children to help bring some much-needed cheer into the lives of our farmers by creating homemade cards.

CEO of Rural Aid, John Walters, said that in the lead up to Christmas over recent years, Rural Aid had asked school children to write letters and cards to farmers and the response was huge.

“We received 38,000 cards that year: some were written in crayon, others covered in glitter, but all of them had the same heartfelt messages from city kids to farmers and their families,” Mr Warlters said.

“Little did we know what impact these letters would have on the farmers reading them; coming from children they didn’t know, saying that they cared.”

“To say the response from the farmers was emotionally charged would be an understatement.”

Mr Warlters said the organisation is hoping to get even more cards in 2020, beating the record 38,000 handmade cards sent in 2019.

Over 700 schools and community groups participated last year, and nearly 200 volunteers were involved in mailing out Christmas cards and letters to almost 11,000 farmers and their families. (Note: Farmers received more than one card and letter.)The cards cannot be larger than 120mm x 170mm, though they can be folded down to this size, and should not be placed in an individual envelope. Instead, cards should be grouped together and placed in a bigger envelope before being mailed to Rural Aid – PO Box 1342, Sunnybank Hills QLD 4109.

Rural Aid explained that, in addition to the anguish caused by the COVID pandemic that has affected all Australians, farmers across the country have endured years of record-breaking droughts, devastating floods and catastrophic bushfires.

“After such a difficult year, we want to put a smile on the faces of Aussie farmers. Students can make this possible by getting their school involved in our Christmas Cards 4 Farmers initiative.”

Help Rural Aid continue this tradition by creating your homemade card and sending it in before November 19.

Rural Aid will have thousands of envelopes here ready to put your card in and send onto an Aussie farmer.

Visit: www.ruralaid.org.au/christmascards4farmers/
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Media enquiries: Lyndsey Douglas 0424203935  | media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au
Media spokespersons: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters – 0409 618 641  

IT IS BRAVE TO ASK FOR SUPPORT

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Wisdom from a Rural Aid counsellor during Mental Health Month

During Mental Health Month (October), Rural Aid asked their rural counsellors to share what they want farmers to know about their mental health.

As Mental Health Month draws to a close, Rural Aid counsellor Jane McCollum says the one message she’d like primary producers to know is that it’s okay to admit it when the chips are down and you need some support.

“At any given time in anyone’s life we all need support in some way. Talk to a friend or family member you can trust and connect with a counsellor if you need to chat with someone outside your personal community. It is brave to say “I need some support” or even to reach out to someone who you can see may need your support,” Ms McCollum said.

Jane McCollum covers the Toowoomba Region, Southern Downs and parts of Western Downs in South East Queensland for Rural Aid. She says she does it because everyone deserves to be heard in hard times.

“I am a Rural Aid counsellor as I believe all humankind deserves to be supported and assisted in difficult times. Rural people are having a particularly difficult journey as they navigate through crucial issues such as drought, social changes, an increasing technological world that can often leave rural people feeling fearful and overwhelmed.”

“My job involves calling and visiting primary producers and offering support whether that be counselling or assisting with understanding forms and accessing financial support.”

“I also attend interagency meetings and network with various stakeholders who I believe can assist in facing the overall challenges we are seeing our primary producers face.”

Outside of helping farmers individually, Jane can be found at fodder deliveries, community events and recovery projects, helping towns and communities build stronger futures.

“We are constantly connecting with rural people. This role is incredibly diverse and covers many different aspects of assistance to rural people.”
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Media enquiries: Lyndsey Douglas 0424203935  | media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au
Media spokespersons: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters – 0409 618 641 

About Rural Aid | Rural Aid is one of Australia’s largest rural charities. Well known for the highly successful ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign, the charity also provides financial assistance, water and counselling to farmers in times of drought, flood or fire. Other initiatives support its vision that farming and rural communities are safeguarded to ensure their sustainability both during and after these natural disasters. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au for further information on these programs and other support for our rural communities. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au/snapshots for Rural Aid’s latest assistance statistics.
Follow Rural Aid for updates on: FB: @ruralaidaustralia | @buyabaleofhay. IN: Rural Aid Ltd. TW: @ruralaidaust | @buyabale

SHARE A MESSAGE OF HOPE WITH OUR AUSSIE FARMERS

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For many farmers, tough times continue, but we can still share hope

Drought, fires, floods and now the impact of COVID-19 restrictions. Many of our Aussie farmers have experienced more than one of these in the past six months and for some a mix of all.

While uncertainty has been on the peripheral for many, so that our farmers know that they haven’t been forgotten during these times, Rural Aid has launched #DearFarmer letters where people can share a digital message of hope with a farmer. And, the Community Builders webinar series is proving a great support for rural communities too.

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said it was more important than ever to acknowledge that farmers really are the backbone of our communities and, to express gratitude for the food we so readily find on our plates.

“We’d like to show our farmers and rural communities that we see and value them especially in uncertain times. Over Christmas 2018, we sent over 3000 letters written by school children to our farmers,” John said. “Some were written in crayon, others covered in glitter, but all had the same heartfelt message – letting farmers know how much they are appreciated.”

“The response from farmers was incredible. Many spoke of the tears they shed reading their letters and their gratitude to the many school children who were thinking of them.

“This year, we’ve taken this incredible initiative digital so, we can reach as many people as possible to send letters of hope.

“As we experience challenging times, our farmers continue to put food on our tables. Panic buying may put strain on our supply chains, but our farmers continue to have our backs by supplying beautiful Australian produce.

“We’re asking Australians of all ages to show their Aussie spirit and share a note of hope on their favourite social media channel with a farmer going through tough times rebuilding after fires, flood and drought.

“We can’t make it rain, but we can take a moment to sit down and write a note, or draw a picture, for our farmers.”

To get involved and share your message of hope with our Aussie farmers, just go to www.ruralaid.org.au/write-dearfarmer-letter/ and:

  • Share a virtual message with our farmers by using the hashtag #DearFarmer – don’t forget to tag @ruralaid.
  • Write a digital letter and post on our #DearFarmer wall.
  • Businesses can get involved by sharing the Dear Farmer page with their employees or by getting in touch with Rural Aid directly.

About Rural Aid

Rural Aid is one of Australia’s largest rural charities. Well known for the highly successful ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign, the charity also provides financial assistance, water and counselling to farmers in times of drought, flood or fire. Other initiatives support its vision that farming and rural communities are safeguarded to ensure their sustainability both during and after these natural disasters. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au for further information on these programs and other support for our rural communities.

Visit www.ruralaid.org.au/snapshots for Rural Aid’s latest assistance statistics.

Media: 0447 116 757 | media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au

Spokesperson: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters | 0409 618 641

IT’S OKAY NOT TO BE OKAY

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Meet a Rural Aid counsellor during Mental Health Month

During Mental Health Month (October), Rural Aid asked their rural counsellors to share what they want farmers to know about their mental health.

Rural Aid counsellor Zoe Cox, who provides counselling services from Lithgow to Mudgee, Bathurst to Orange, Parkes and Forbes and in between, says she wishes the message for farmers to hear this Mental Health Month is that it’s okay not to be okay.

“Because the concept of mental health encompasses everything from wellbeing to mental illness, the idea of experiencing unease or feeling a need to reach out can feel incredibly demoralising and scary,” Ms Cox said.

“Yet it is important that we remind ourselves that very functional, healthy individuals will often need support too so the sooner we reach out, the less overwhelming the process becomes and the more relieving the outcome can be because it really is ok, not to be ok.”

As a Registered Counsellor, Zoe has always had a strong passion for helping others.

“Since recognising the need for further support in rural Australia, I have become primarily focused on supporting rural communities. Having grown up on the land myself, I understand the impact of long-term adverse weather patterns on farming and subsequently on mental health as a result of increased isolation, workload and financial strain.”

Zoe’s job involves offering phone and face-to-face counselling for farmers and their families across this region of NSW.
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Media enquiries: Lyndsey Douglas 0424203935  | media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au
Media spokespersons: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters – 0409 618 641 

About Rural Aid | Rural Aid is one of Australia’s largest rural charities. Well known for the highly successful ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign, the charity also provides financial assistance, water and counselling to farmers in times of drought, flood or fire. Other initiatives support its vision that farming and rural communities are safeguarded to ensure their sustainability both during and after these natural disasters. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au for further information on these programs and other support for our rural communities. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au/snapshots for Rural Aid’s latest assistance statistics.
Follow Rural Aid for updates on: FB: @ruralaidaustralia | @buyabaleofhay. IN: Rural Aid Ltd. TW: @ruralaidaust | @buyabale