Overflowing with farmers, agricultural workers and government services, hundreds took advantage of the Navigating the Drought forum at the RSM Club on Tuesday.
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New England and Northwest drought appeal R U Aware We Care organised the event as a chance for locals to visit a range of government services, agricultural industry supports, financial aid, employment services and mental health support services in one place.
Hampers of fruit and vegetables were on offer, donated by a farmer from Dorrigo.
“It’s a great idea to put this forum on because it gets the people that are struggling on the land to meet up with these organisations today. There are opportunities that they may not know about to help them in relation to the drought,” STA FM president Mal Really said.
Along with their sister stations in Tamworth, Tenterfield, Narrabri and Glen Innes, STA FM is a strong supporter of the R U Aware We Care initiative.
Farmer Roger Durkin said he appreciated talking face to face with various services, while Nelp Armstrong said it was good to have them all in one place.
Grayson Wolfgang from the Department of Industry said the forum was an opportunity for services to learn “where the gaps are” and give feedback to the Government, with the hope of more informed policy-making in the future.
“Fingers crossed this is just the start,” he said.
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Ben Lucas from Centacare said farmers often find it hard to leave the farm, particularly in times of crisis, but insisted that taking care of their mental health was equally important as their animals. Brenna Bamford agreed, and likened the situation to a plane crash – when adults must put their own oxygen masks on before helping their children.
The pair said if farmers don’t take care of themselves first, their capacity to look after their animals and land would be diminished.
“In Inverell most of the problems are below the surface, so it’s very hard to get farmers to come out into the community and say ‘I need the help’. That’s the biggest problem that we’ve got,” STA FM program director Peter Jarrett said.
“Many people that are attending today, we’re encouraging them to assist other people who didn’t get here. Today isn’t the end of it, it’s just the beginning.”