RFDS delivers 'We've Got Your Back', its newest mental health program

'We've Got Your Back' is the newest mental health program delivered by the Royal Flying Doctor Service in far west NSW.

The majority of people who have sought help through the program are aged 25 to 55 years old, with most between 35 and 55 years old.

While most people are looking for support to help them deal with the pressures of isolation, drought, disasters, disease and fires, the program has been able to help people needing crisis care.

Funded by the NSW Ministry for Health, the RFDS recruits people with lived experience to provide genuine face-to-face support for rural people from the land.

In particular, local graziers who themselves have been through tough times, are a phone call away to engage in genuine conversations about mental health, provide advocacy for people impacted by drought and illness, and link others in their community to appropriate services.

In partnership with Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast, the RFDS has recruited a number of rural champions - local graziers Richard Wilson, Brendan Cullen, Jane Martin and Belinda Bennett.

The number of people needing mental health support is similar between rural and urban populations, according to Vanessa Latham, who developed the 'We've Got Your Back' program.

Unfortunately, rural populations lack a workforce with first-hand experience of the issues unique to living in their communities, especially farming.

This has created a culture gap.

So she turned to developing a peer-based workforce.

"The peer workforce concept has a lot of evidence behind it," Ms Latham said.

"Thinking of the geographical distances and remote-living nature of our population group, it was worth exploring how to add Champions - peers making their living from the land - as an extension to formal mental health services."

Current and past Champions include Brendan Cullen, Jane Martin, Paul Martin, Bodie Hill, Rachel Hill, Richard Wilson and Belinda Bennett.

They are scattered across far west NSW.

A pilot project was developed with Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast, which counts Brendan Cullen, from Kars Station near Menindee, as an ambassador.

One of the ways Mr Cullen looks after this mental health is swimming long distances in Lake Menindee.

In the past year, he has swum across the English Channel solo and more recently as part of a relay team.

Mr Cullen is a life long user of RFDS medical and retrieval services, and an advocate for mental health and wellbeing after his own experiences with mental ill-health.

"I also had in mind a handful of potential Champions."

A selection panel and criteria were devised, and recruitment and training was under way.

Champions receive phone calls, text messages, emails; they can visit people on properties, support people to attend appointments, proactively follow up with people, and advocate for them with services.

"They genuinely relate to the lifestyle pressures and impacts on mental health and wellbeing for people living in rural and remote areas."

The champions are also looked after in the program.

"Being a sounding board for others experiencing mental health issues or just needing someone to listen to, can take its toll.

"We provide ongoing training and mentoring to our champions and are regularly checking they have the support they need, so they can support others."

Ms Latham said data collected by the champions and surveys has identified less than 40 per cent of respondents would have sought help from a GP or formal mental health services.

"Fortunately, after their involvement with the champions, every one who responded said they would now seek that formal help."

Sheep grazier Jane Martin sought help for her feelings of isolation and frustration with drought, and that eventually pivoted into her recruitment as a champion for the 'We've Got Your Back' program.

Her husband, Paul Martin, was a pilot with RFDS, and involved with outreach services; she was familiar with the range of services delivered by RFDS.

They moved to Mulga Valley, 110km northwest of Broken Hill, and when their last child moved to boarding school, Ms Martin was consumed with a loss of identity.

"When children are at home, your main focus is them," she said.

"Their care and their schooling takes up a lot of time.

"When they all left for boarding school, I was back out in the paddock, working alongside men and there were no other females.

"I enjoy working in the paddock, but I felt so isolated.

"And then the drought came along and there were dust storms every day.

"I had to clean my house every day because of the dust, and I lost my garden.

"I could feel myself down, I was crying more than normal."

Visiting an RFDS clinic, Ms Martin was able to get the help she needed.

Eventually approached to be a champion, she underwent the training and courses and now says a lot of her encounters with people seeking help occur in the supermarket.

"We learn about cues for recognising people in crisis - it might be the language they use.

"My role is mostly about being approachable - and maintaining confidentiality.

"Most of my counselling happens in the supermarket, where people talk about how tough it is.

"People don't ask for help, but if you give them the opportunity to talk, they share their worries and they know it's confidential.

"They might share their concerns about themselves, a member of their family, or a friend.

"Sometimes people just want to run something past me."

Ms Martin said she is often approached by women in the 40 to 60-year-old group, and people want to talk about drought, stock prices and their financial risk, and alcohol abuse.

Richard Wilson said it was "humbling" to be asked to be part of the champions initiative, after he recovered from his own mental health crisis.

Mr Wilson felt he was in alien territory when he was diagnosed with depression.

He had lost his enthusiasm for normal activities and was sleeping - or remaining in bed - for hours beyond what was normal for him.

He dwelled on the physical - was it old age, or would he get a diagnosis of cancer or another serious disease if he took himself to a doctor?

He didn't want to make that decision to seek help, so he could remain in ignorance

"I knew there was something wrong and I was scared," Mr Wilson said.

"I dodged social interaction and I became a recluse.

"I never ever considered that I was suffering from depression."

Mr Wilson believes it's important to keep talking about depression so it becomes normalised and seeking help is identified as a sign of strength.

"When people say I am struggling and I do need help, just start the conversation with someone," he said.

It was a chance conversation with a machinery sales person that helped Mr Wilson seek help.

"He had suffered from depression and when he started to tell me the things that occurred to him, the penny dropped.

"I went and saw the GP the next day and from that point on, the weight lifted on my shoulders."

Now he knew what he was dealing with, Mr Wilson was proactive about seeking recovery and improvement.

"I wanted to do everything I could to get myself out of this, because I couldn't live in the world that I found myself stuck in."

He participated in six weeks of counselling.

"There were a lot of tears. In each sesson, the tissue box was sitting there. She [the counsellor] helped me identify a lot of things I'd bottled up and kept somewhere in the back of my head."

Mr Wilson said his recovery was fairly quick because of the counselling sessions.

He's now a Champion for change with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

"The more the Champion role was explained to me the more I realised we could be a link in chain of support that could help people get through difficult times," he said.

"The process and skills we're learning is all about helping others.

"We're there just to give an ear to you so you can talk about your issues.

"We've been through tough times and we know how great it is to be out the other side.

"We want to get that message across and we're here to help, we've got your back.

"This is just a conversation, and it only costs a bit of your time."

If you need support in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, always call 000.