As Rural Alive and Well members are busy across the state providing support in bushfire evacuation centres, the announcement that they will be the Agfest 2019 official charity partner couldn’t have come at a better time.
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The not-for-profit organisation offers a state-wide service that not only provides support but also advocates for mental health wellbeing and suicide prevention in rural communities.
Business services team leader Peta-Maree Davidson said the group was formed by community members after a devastating event of a “cluster of suicides” that occurred in the Central Highlands.
“This year RAW celebrates a decade of providing support to rural Tasmania. We started out with one half-time worker in a donated ute, dropping into farms in the Midlands area. Today we have 16 staff state-wide providing support to all of rural Tasmania including Bruny, King and Flinders Islands.
“Over the last 10 years, RAW has expanded our service provision to include counselling and support, training, capacity building, and disaster relief and provided support to thousands of individuals.”
RAW’s outreach program is available 24/7. Outreach workers will come to you, or give you a call.
“We are speaking with individuals affected by the current bushfire crisis. Once they go back to their homes, we are going to follow up with those individuals because trauma is a big thing after these events. We are a mate when times are tough.”
She said being the official charity partner for Agfest 2019 illustrates that suicide prevention along with mental health and wellbeing is a topic close to hearts.
“It gives a clear message that suicide is a topic that we need bring out of the shadows and that we all need to address, to educate ourselves on the warning signs and know how and where to find help. Prevention requires everyone to be aware of suicide risks in our families, schools and towns, it takes education, shared understanding and increasing resilience in a community to actually help prevent suicide.”
Agfest chairman Owen Woolley said RAW aligned well with the event.
“We are agriculturally based and trying to help agricultural businesses and strengthen the community. To associate ourselves with RAW is quite fitting with our core values. For us to be able to help and support an organisation that is impacting the agricultural sector in Tasmania and getting to the key issues of mental health and suicide prevention is quite important,” he said.
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