E-Media
New DVD to Help Rural Men
Wheatbelt Men’s Health Inc (WMH) and the Kondinin Group, a farmer-based support organisation, have joined forces to produce a high quality DVD to assist farmers and their families to understand rural men’s mental health, including the issues created by excessive stress and depression, and the need to seek professional help if under pressure.
The DVD focuses on the Working with Warriors program pioneered by Julian Krieg, WMH Senior Educator and Western Australian representative on the board of Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA). Julian believes prevention starts with community members, and that informing them about their responsibilities to look after themselves and their mates is a critical first line of defense to mental health problems.
For the past six years, Julian has been promoting the slogan, “before it all gets too much, talk to a mate”. He believes many rural men are predisposed to maintaining a ‘warrior’ attitude and are reluctant to let their steely outer layer come down.
One of the important things Julian believes most rural men can do, however, is realise that there are some things they don’t need to be ‘warriors’ about. In those circumstances, confiding in someone about their feelings can sometimes be of real benefit.
The first resource of its kind in Australia, the Working with Warriors DVD profiles four bush stories and the effect stress can have on the lives of rural men and their families. A draft of the DVD was previously shown to the SPA team, who unanimously agreed that it represented a positive resource for rural communities. SPA endorsed its wider release and use as a tool for awareness-raising among rural families.
Former Kondinin Group Chief Executive Officer, Bill Ryan, said the idea for the DVD was hatched during mid-2006 when the majority of farming Australia was in the depths of drought.
While the DVD is unique to Western Australia, it has a message for all farmers as well as their families, he said. “It’s a great tool and, being a DVD, people can watch it in the privacy of their own home, alone or with their family.”
Working with Warriors was officially launched on Friday 16 May 2008 at the Claremont Showground in Western Australia. Dr Michael Dudley, SPA Chair, spoke at the launch.
Launching the DVD, The Hon. Kim Chance MLC, Minister for Agriculture and Food, Government of Western Australia, observed: “It’s about recognising that people matter.”
“Most recently, the farmers in the northern and eastern wheatbelt have shown enormous courage and resilience. I believe we need to do away with the stigma attached to mental health and also cease compartmentalising physical health and mental health,” he said.
SPA believes the partnership between WMH, Kondinin Group, and the Department of Agriculture and Food is a terrific example of a cross-community approach to suicide prevention; recognising that suicide is not just a health issue!
Working with Warriors is available free of charge. If you would like a copy of the DVD, you can email either SNaughton@agric.wa.gov.au or Debbie@kondinin.com.au.
Please wait until mid-July to send requests, once the initial production run of the DVD has been distributed. A further production run of the DVD is currently under negotiation.
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Publications
"A Blue Print for the Future" from the National Forum on Men and Suicide
"A Blue Print for the Future" aims to develop a national vision for the prevention of suicide among men. This document was created as a result of the National Forum on Men and Suicide which was held in 2006.
To download the "Blue Print" please click here.
"Sydney Statement" from the National Forum on Men and Suicide
The "Sydney Statement" of the National Forum on Men & Suicide was created by the delegates attending the Men and Suicide Forum in Sydney in May 2006. This statement lists actions for government, media, corporate sector, and community sector.
Excerpt: "We affirm that male suicide is one of the great tragedies of Australia today. Every day, five men end their life through suicide in this country. Of the 2,100 suicides annually, 80% are male. Almost 50% of suicides annually are males aged 25-44 years. Despite the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, male suicide rates continue to rise in remote areas. In many rural and remote indigenous communities rates are extremely high. This situation is utterly unacceptable and preventable."
To download the full Sydney Statement please click here.
"Closing the Gap" from the SPA 2004 National Conference
"Closing the Gap" is a SPA publication summarising the issues and recommendations identified by those who attended the 11th National SPA Conference which was held in Sydney in 2004.
To download "Closing the Gap" please click here.
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Reports
Evaluation Report for the 2007 National Post-vention Conference
In May of 2007, The Salvation Army held the National Post-vention Conference in Sydney. The final evaluation report for this conference can be downloaded by clicking here.
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Research & Statistics
Additionally, you can find a comprehensive list of research and statistics facilities available in the Links section of the SPA website. For information on SPA's role in improving the quality of suicide statistics in Australia click here.
Mindframe
The Mindframe website provides statistics on the rate of suicide within Australia.
Australian Research June 2009 / January 2010
A summary of recent Australian research has been compiled for SPA by Professor Brian Draper, Conjoint Professor in the School of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales.
Australian Research - June 2009 to Jan 2010
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