A Senior Vice President with Farm Credit Canada says with the social structure in rural Canada eroding the need for access to mental health first aid is growing.
Under a one year pilot project Farm Credit Canada is contributing 50 thousand dollars to the Do More Agriculture Foundation, which focuses on promoting mental health awareness and well-being in Canadian agriculture, to create a network of mental health first aiders who can identify and support producers coping with difficult or unfortunate circumstances.
Darren Howden, a Senior Vice President Operations for Prairie with Farm Credit Canada, says the funding will be used to provide mental health first aid training.
For me in my personal journey, the more I started to be understanding of some of the challenges that were out there the more the need became apparent. I grew up in rural Saskatchewan and I remember when I was a kid growing up we had five neighbors within a mile. In a town of 50 there was curling rink, so all winter you were in the curling rink in the winter time. In the summer time there were ball diamonds. You went over to a neighbor’s and played cards or you did what ever. There was tons of social aspects that were out there.
Fast forward a few years and where I grew up, the curling rink is gone, the ball diamonds are gone and there isn’t a neighbour within five miles of where I grew up. Those social opportunities to get away from the farm and the day to day, to go out and socialize and connect with people isn’t there as much as it used to be. I think that’s probably one of the things that we’re seeing.
With our sector in rural Canada being more isolated than we were in the past, it’s a bigger need for people to connect and see that here’s what I can do to get help and how I can help others. But I think in terms of how the sector has evolved that’s one of the things. That social aspect has been lost so, with that aspect gone, we need to make sure that people are aware and support in ways that they can to make sure they’re going to be OK.
~ Darren Howden, Farm Credit Canada
Howden says this is something that will be acted upon as soon as logistically possible. He says the project will be moving forward within the next number of months.
