Desiree DeCoste
Beaver Staff
A Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Workshop for Canadian Agriculture Producers within Lennox and Addington County has been set up for Jan. 28 and 29.
Donna O’Connell, a local farmer, equine specialist, co-owner of Charmed Horse Assisted Wellness Centre and Charmed Stables applied to the Community Fund 2020 which is being offered through The Do More Agriculture Foundation, The Grain Farmers of Ontario, Farm Credit Canada and Bridges Health, requesting to have Lennox and Addington accepted as a location to bring mental health training and awareness to the local agriculture producers.
This MHFA Workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. is taking place at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 137 in Napanee.
Participants will have the opportunity to learn about what steps to take in a mental health emergency, whether it be to help a friend, a co-worker or themselves. Each participant who completes the training will receive a Certificate of Attendance from the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
The Grain Farmers of Ontario are sponsoring the whole workshop, which includes the cost of the course, and catering from Ellena’s Café.
This event is free to the full capacity of 25 participants.
The development of this workshop began with a vision by co-founder Kim Keller, to provide education and experience to agriculture producers to equip them with the ability to Talk More, Ask More and Listen More. There are many workshops that focus on mental health training, however it was felt there was a gap between general mental health education, and mental health education that is specific to the unique needs and experience of Canadian agriculture producers.
Therefore, Do More Agriculture Foundation partnered with Bridges Health, to utilize their existing mental health content, specialize it to agriculture, and include a hands-on workshop component and experiential group learning, to be made available across Canada.
Do More Agriculture is a not-for-profit organization focusing on mental health in agriculture across Canada. Agriculture is an industry with a foundation of deep rural roots, hard work, get it done attitude, strength and community. In order to uphold that image, those traits can also be the industry’s weakness, as they become barriers for speaking up and seeking help.
Agriculture producers are among the most vulnerable when it comes to mental health challenges. Stress, anxiety, depression, emotional exhaustion and burnout are all higher among farmers than among other groups. As well, Canadian farmers are more stressed than those living and working in the general population.
For more information on Do More Agriculture, visit www.domore.ag
For more information on MHFA Workshop contact Donna O’Connell at 613-392-3832 or email charmedstables@gmail.com or contact Kathrine McKay at charmedhawc@gmail.com.