Collaborative approach to mental health support for St Arnaud farmers
Published on 18 December 2025
St Arnaud and district residents will soon start receiving a suite of easy-to-navigate mental health resources detailing where and how to access support in the region and beyond.
Magnets and postcards featuring contact details for a mix of local, state, national, in-person and online service providers will be mailed to all St Arnaud and district households in January.
The resources also detail the importance of seeking help early and checking in with mates.
The resources are part of a co-ordinated and targeted mental health campaign launched by a group of stakeholders including representatives of regional health services, farmer advocacy groups, agricultural businesses, community groups and organisations, and Northern Grampians Shire Council.
Mayor Karen Hyslop said the campaign stemmed from initial conversations between Victorian Farmers Federation St Arnaud branch president Colin Coates and representatives of the National Centre for Farmer Health.
“Colin said these conversations highlighted growing concerns within our farming community, including that many of our community members are unsure of where to turn for support during these challenging times,” she said.
“Through these conversations, it became clear that there needed to be a broader, more coordinated approach to communicating what support is available, along with advocating for much-needed additional support for our community.”
Council and East Wimmera Health Service staff, along with Mr Coates, hosted an initial stakeholder meeting in St Arnaud in August, bringing together representatives of Grampians Community Health, Driscoll Ag, O’Connors, Rural Financial Counselling Service, North West Ag and St Arnaud Lions Club.
“Additional key stakeholders have since joined the campaign, including the National Centre for Farmer Health, DEECA, St Arnaud Neighbourhood House, SCAN (St Arnaud Community Action Network) and Authentic Conversations,” Cr Hyslop said.
“The purpose of the initial meeting was to gain an understanding of what our farming community needs, along with what support is available to them.
“Colin expressed a strong interest in getting mental health support information to farmers and the stakeholders agreed a coordinated approach was the best way to go.”
Cr Hyslop said the region’s farmers were impacted by a range of stressful factors, including transmission lines, mining, the introduction of the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund, ongoing drought, and concern about funding cuts to the National Centre for Farmer Health.
“These issues were discussed at the initial meeting. There were also a lot of questions asked in response to these issues, such as, ‘What services are available for farmers?’, ‘Are there waiting lists?’, ‘Do farmers know where to access support?’,” she said.
“Everyone agreed on a community awareness campaign to provide the answers to these questions and others.
“The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness and promote access to predominantly local as well as statewide and national mental health supports, particularly among rural and farming communities through trusted networks, relatable messaging, and accessible communication channels.
“Alongside the campaign, the stakeholders will use a coordinated approach to advocate for additional local services on the ground to meet the growing needs of our community.”
Along with the resources mailout, East Wimmera Health Service health promotion staff have created wallet cards to be made available at key locations including health services and agricultural businesses.
Stickers will be distributed through agricultural businesses and Country Fire Authority, CFA, branches for people to display in prominent places as a reminder that support is available.
There will also be social media messaging, with regular posts from key organisations and businesses.
Grampians Community Health is providing an outreach worker for St Arnaud one day a week, however, the stakeholder group will continue to push for specific funding for outreach services in the region.
“The support is flexible and can be arranged to suit individual needs,” Cr Hyslop said.
“People who need the service can access it in a way that suits them – whether that be online, via a phone call or by the outreach worker paying a farm visit throughout the district.”
Cr Hyslop said people could contact Rochelle Walters by texting 0426 307 518 or emailing eap@gch.org.au. People need to include their name, contact number and quote ‘Farmer EAP’.
“While this work is place-based and focused on StArnaud and surrounds – as that is where we are finding the issues are compounding for farmers – Grampians Community Health has a range of counselling and support services available to communities throughout the shire,” she said.
“Several agricultural businesses have agreed to send text messages out to their customers informing them of the availability of the support service.”
Cr Hyslop said campaign stakeholders met again on Thursday last week to discuss additional ways to support the community.
St Arnaud and district community members also had an opportunity to learn about some of the available resources firsthand during a ‘Talk the Talk – Supporting Mental Health in Rural Communities’ workshop on Monday.
“We will provide updates to the community as further developments come to hand,” Cr Hyslop said.
“For now, we want everyone to know support services are available for people who are struggling and need assistance.
“We also want to encourage people to check in with their mates and let them know about the resources available to them – we are stronger together.”
People can click here for a list of health, wellbeing and other support services.