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SUPPLIED / Stuff
Inglewood Young Farmers Club posed nude to raise awareness of rural mental health. (From left): Patrick Titter, Steven McIver, Liam Honnor, Amy Carroll, Tim Bonner, Kenzie Bellringer. Troy Carroll, Carlin Honnor, and Josh Evershed.
It was when a close relative said “I love you” while on his way to work one morning that Taranaki’s diesel mechanic, Josh Evershed, realized something might not be quite right.
“It was out of the ordinary because he had never said that kind of thing to us before,” Evershed said.
“It was an understanding for everyone close to him that he may have serious mental health problems. [issues]And we had to chase it down before it got worse. “
Steps were taken to ease the family member’s workload, take his mind off the farm and get back to what he enjoyed doing, Evershed said.
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Meanwhile, in July, Evershed and eight friends from the Inglewood Young Farmers’ Club posed nude for a national photo contest organized by Will To Live and Australia-based mental health awareness group The Naked Farmer.
They recently found out that they had won the first prize of $ 1500, which they plan to give to mental health charities.
Will To Live was started in 2018 by South Island farmer Elle Perriam, who organized a national “Speak Up” tour to rural areas to raise awareness of rural mental health in New Zealand after her partner took her own life.
Inglewood club members vary in occupations, from mechanics to dairy farmers to auto painters, and all have been connected with colleagues facing serious mental health issues in rural areas.
Evershed said her relative had struggled after buying their first farm.
“He had finally fulfilled his dream and was crumbling around him after six months.
“He s … he was hitting the fan around the farm. It was a very wet winter, the pay was down and he was struggling to get by.
“There were mornings where he would take a two-hour shower because he couldn’t face going out to the farm.”
BRODY DOLAN / Things
Members of the Inglewood Young Farmers’ Club stripped naked and won first prize in a national photo contest to support rural mental health. From left to right: Josh Evershed, Steven McIver, Kenzie Bellringer, Troy Carroll, Tim Bonner, Amy Carroll and Keith the dog. (Absent: Carlin Honnor, Patrick Titter and Liam Honnor).
Club treasurer Kenzie Bellringer said: “As a club, we support rural mental health awareness because we have all been connected in some way through friends and colleagues.
“It was a very cold night, sitting in a very cold tractor seat in a very cold shed,” she said of the nude photoshoot.
“We are lucky not to hear more about it because it will not go away, but awareness about it is becoming more and more known.
“There are all kinds of pressures that come from working in isolation and being a kiwi tough guy who doesn’t easily share his feelings with anyone.
“There was a time when they told you to toughen up and take a pill of cement if things didn’t work out on the farm.
“Now people are more aware of depression and will talk about it more openly.”
Where to get help
- 1737, do you need to talk? Call toll free or text 1737 to speak with a trained counselor.
- Anxiety New Zealand 0800 ANXIETY (0800 269 4389)
- Depression.org.nz 0800111757 or text 4202
- Kidsline 0800 54 37 54 for people up to 18 years old. Open 24/7.
- Life line 0800 543 354
- Mental Health Foundation 09 623 4812, click here to access your free resource and information service.
- Rural support trust 0800 787 254
- Samaritans 0800 726 666
- Suicide Crisis Helpline 050828865 (SUPPORT 0508)
- Supporting families with mental illness 0800 732 825
- thelowdown.co.nz Web chat, email chat or free text 5626
- What happens 0800 942 8787 (from 5 to 18 years old). Telephone advice available from Monday to Friday from 12:00 to 23:00 and on weekends from 15:00 to 23:00. Online chat is available from 3 pm to 10 pm every day.
- Youthline 0800 376 633, free text 234, email [email protected], or find online chat and other support options here.
- If it’s an emergency Click here to find the number for your local crisis assessment team.
- In a life-threatening situation, call 111.
