Living with mental illness and having a personal experience of life on the land has motivated St Albans farmer Sherri McMahon to help local farmers weather drought.
Armed with a Well-being Grant to Support Farming Communities received from Wentworth Healthcare (provider of the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network) Sherri and her partner Ingrid are rallying the community to connect and build resilience.
The grant, given to the Trustees of the St Albans Common, is part of the Federal Government's Empowering Our Communities initiative to support communities affected by drought.
Sherri knows first-hand the effect drought has had on the community and how hard it can be to acknowledge you have a problem and seek help.
"Farmers have had to put down their sick stock that are in poor condition, or who have eaten poisonous plants that they would not normally eat. Other community members have left the St Albans valley in search of other employment to support their farms," Sherri said.
"We could see we were in for long hot, dry spells with little or no chance of rains. We watched our pastures turn to dust despite our efforts to irrigate our small paddocks. The price of grain has increased, as well as fodder due to shortages in grain being harvested.
"We chose to downsize our beef cattle herd by about 50 per cent and take the loss rather than trying to keep all the animals. By downsizing we lost female breeding stock we had selectively bred over the years."
Sherri said that without her friends and family noticing the signs she may have continued undiagnosed: "Professional help has been able to give me coping tools and techniques. They were also able to give me different ways to look at things and direct [me] to services to assist myself and my family."
She looks forward to getting on with the community and offered some words of advice: "Don't downplay your situation, don't compare yourself to others. You may not think you need help, but if you have the symptoms, get help. I literally wouldn't be here if I didn't. The sooner you accept you are suffering and reach out, the sooner you can get back on track. It may just save you, your farm and your family."
Wentworth Healthcare is accepting grant applications from community groups, individuals and sporting clubs that can raise awareness of mental health, reduce stigma and improve community well-being. Applications for Round 4 close Friday, September 20. Apply at nbmphn.com.au/grants.
If you or someone you know needs help, contact: Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or beyondblue.org.au; Suicide Line on 1300 651 251; Men's Line on 1300 789 978; or Lifeline on 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au.
