Telephone counselling services provided by Lifeline have long been recognised as a trusted first point of call for many rural and regional Australians in need.
Now, a partnership between leading rural agribusiness, Ruralco and Lifeline hopes to improve the quality of that service specifically for rural Australians.
Lifeline currently provides a series of modules to their volunteer staff to assist them while taking calls from clients.
But there is no module specific to the challenges faced by rural people, including farmers, and Ruralco CEO Travis Dillon wants that changed.
Ruralco and Lifeline have been working together since 2015 and will now collaborate on a survey to help develop the new rural training and reference module.
“A lot of the Lifeline call centres are based in capital cities where the volunteers may not have a lot of experience with farmers and the unique challenges they face,” Mr Dillon said.
“We see this as a way to bridge that gap and provide a deeper insight into the people who are calling in from rural areas.
“We know the suicide rate in the country is higher than it is in the city so it’s likely we would see a higher percentage of calls from those areas.”
Ruralco has been supporting Lifeline since 2015, when the big agribusiness approached the charity about forming an official partnership.
We know the suicide rate in the country is higher than it is in the city so it’s likely we would see a higher percentage of calls from those areas.
- Ruralco CEO Travis Dillon
The company provides an annual donation to Lifeline and also helps facilitate fundraising activities for Lifeline across their extensive network.
Last year Ruralco was able to make a combined donation of more than $500,000 to Lifeline.
For Ruralco it had always been the intention that the partnership would include a piece of research in order to determine what the major causes of stress were among rural people, what they do in times of stress and where they turn for help.
The findings will be instrumental in developing the training modules for telephone councillors.
The survey can be accessed online from the Ruralco website and there will be paper copies in Ruralco subsidiary and joint venture stores such as CRT, Total Eden, Roberts, Primaries, Platinum Ag Services, Rodwells, and NorthernAgriServices stores that can be returned reply paid.
People can also fill out and send in the print version that has been made available through Fairfax Agricultural Media’s Safe Hands publication.
“We also hope organisations like the CWA and the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health will help point people to the survey,” Mr Dillon said.
“If we have over 1000 people respond it would be fantastic.”
Ruralco and Lifeline have seen some high and low points during the partnership.
Ongoing droughts and times of crisis within sectors such as dairy have provided plenty of impetus to continue the work being done to reduce mental illness and suicide rates in rural Australia.
Mr Dillon said Ruralco believes it has a role to play in keeping Lifeline informed about the challenges being experienced in rural Australia.
That was made especially apparent during the dairy crisis in 2016.
“Things were looking very bad (for dairy farmers), we picked up the phone to call Lifeline to see what could be done working together.
“Lifeline needed to know where to concentrate their efforts. They wanted to know at a national level where the dairy farmers were being impacted. We were able to help.
“We were also able to put together a series of advertisements calling out Lifeline and the crisis support services they could provide so that people would be aware that help was available.
“Lifeline also sent councillors out to those areas and worked with our local businesses in places like Gippsland to hold support meetings.
“That work has been ongoing and it is great to think that that connection was made because of our alliance.”
CEO leads cause by example
Ruralco CEO Travis Dillon has put his money “where it would be best spent” by donating his 2016 $140,000 work bonus directly to Lifeline.
The Sydney based executive, who grew up on the York Peninsula in South Australia, said he was inspired to make the donation after watching the campaign to raise funds for Lifeline capture the hearts and minds of the Ruralco network.
“At that time the response from our network was really building momentum and as a company we were starting to realise just what a huge issue it (mental health) was out in the bush,” he said.
“I just wanted to support the work that was being done within our network to raise funds for Lifeline and show that the commitment was genuine.”
Mr Dillon said the response from Ruralco staff, customers and suppliers was significant.
He specially called out Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, Ancare and NuFarm who have all made major financial contributions to Lifeline.
Mr Dillon said promoting the survey through the Safe Hands publication and website was a natural fit.
“It is at the core of what we are trying to do and that is build awareness and skills in rural Australia around mental health and suicide,” he said.
“There is a direct link between that and a safe workplace.
“At Ruralco safety is not just about wearing a hardhat or seatbelt, it’s about the general wellbeing of our staff, customers and suppliers.”
To complete the survey online please visit www.ruralco.com.au