The Wee Waa community has rallied behind mental health by supporting the Cotton Country Kids calendar, launched on Monday night.
Created by local photographer, John Burgess, 100 per cent of the proceeds are being donated to the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health and directed back to the community to provide much-needed support.
Showcasing the many adventures for little humans in a big agricultural industry, the calendar included 30 children aged from three to 11-years-old, and Mr Burgess said the support from local families was overwhelming.
“The reception was fantastic and I could have had double the number of kids and made a calendar of 24 months,” he said.
Mr Burgess said the idea to create the calendar and support such a worthy cause came about because of the lack of mental health support and conversation in the Wee Waa district.
“The one negative here is how far you've got to travel to get assistance on the health side,” he said.
“I wanted something in a particular for Wee Waa, something that didn't go into consolidated revenue and everyone else get the benefit but we don't here.
“The Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health are willing to do that, and they've been fantastic to work with.”
Rural Adversity Mental Health Program (RAMHP) coordinator for western NSW, Letitia Cross, Moree, said it was great to see the community rallying around mental health support.
“Mental health affect us all and research shows one in five Australians have a diagnoseable illness every year,” she said.
“When we blow that out to our lifetime, it's one in two, so if it's not you, it's me.
“In small communities it's just the same, but we have this culture of not talking about things, and that's a concern because it means we're less likely to seek help.”
Ms Cross said the funds would mean more work could be done in the community to raise awareness and break down stigma, provide education-based programs, and link people in need to services which can help them.
“I think John is to be commended for seeing a need in his community and stepping up to the plate and helping to break that stigma down,” she said.
“Starting that conversation in rural communities is so important.
“Our mental health is just like our physical health and there are some protective things we can do to look after it so we don't get to the point where we develop an illness.”
Take a look at who we snapped at the calendar launch on Monday night.