The ‘Looking out for Your Neighbours’ project was initiated by members of the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) Drought Taskforce and Social Policy Committee, in 2007, in recognition of the high levels of stress and ensuing isolation experienced by many farmers and families affected by drought and other related factors.
The broad aim of these sessions was to provide opportunities for farmers and other rural folk to get together to talk about the isolating effects of drought, and to explore ways to support families and/or community members individually. While a further aim was to get people talking about developing local action projects that might build community strength this aim was not realised.
‘Looking out for your Neighbours’, was developed as a flexible workshop session according to the needs of the participants. While people expressed some interest in hearing more about the effects of stress, anxiety and depression, they also asked for information on how to recognise the effects in others, and were keen to hear tips on how to talk with others about these sensitive matters.
Participants also requested clear information about local support services. With drought counsellors conducting both the Neighbours and No Bull Support workshops within their own regions, participants had the opportunity to meet and get to know their local support workers.
Why is it so important to have events to kick start local communities’ natural healing processes? See link on the left for the answer to this question.
The final report for ‘Looking out for Your Neighbours’ is available below:
