News Corp Australia gives $1m to Rural & Remote Mental Health

News Corp Australia has announced a $1m grant to support mental health services working with rural and remote communities in the aftermath of recent bushfires.

News Corp Australia is giving $1 million to the Rural & Remote Mental Health (RRMH) service to help communities in the aftermath of the bushfires.

The grant will deliver mental health literacy and suicide prevention training in bushfire affected communities over two years, commencing early 2022.

This grant is particularly significant considering the state of mental health in rural Australia, with people who don’t live in greater capital cities being 1.5 times more likely to suicide than people who do.

The rate only increases with remoteness.

With the $1 million grant, News Corp Australia has now donated $4.2 million to assist the ongoing recovery of bushfire areas.

Rural & Remote Mental Health develops mental health literacy and suicide prevention training with workshops delivered in rural and Indigenous communities and to fly-in fly-out workforces across Australia.

In particular the organisation educates people on the signs of mental ill-health, trauma and suicide risk.

Bushfires tore across NSW in the summer of 2019/20

It also looks at community-based prevention: empowering people to look after their mental health, seek help when they need it and to support others in their community to do the same.

Penny Fowler, News Corp Australia’s Community Ambassador, said the grant will aim to address one of the biggest challenges facing Australia, in particular, rural and regional communities.

“Droughts, floods, bushfires and a global pandemic have dealt relentless devastation and hardship, unleashing a storm of community challenges ranging from basic human needs for shelter, food and survival through to the silent killers lurking in the shadows,” she said.

“News Corp Australia has extensively supported the immediate recovery but communities were telling us of a greater challenge.

Much of NSW was devastated by the bushfires of 2019/2020. Pictured is the evacuation effort down at Batemans Bay. Picture NSW Surf Lifesaving

“While many Australians have moved on from the ‘forgotten crisis’, those in rural and remote communities are constantly reminded of the trauma and devastation of those horrific months, causing significant impacts on mental health.

“This latest funding will make a tangible difference to the lives and livelihoods of those in bushfire-impacted communities as well as transforming Rural & Remote Mental Health’s capacity to deliver their vital services.”

Joe Hooper, Rural & Remote Mental Health CEO, said the grant will help deliver vital mental health literacy and suicide prevention programs.

“Many areas impacted by the 2019 Black Summer bushfires are struggling to recover,” he said.

Penny Fowler said the grant would make a tangible difference to communities in rural Australia. Picture: Alex Coppel.

“The significant devastation includes the loss of crops, livestock, homes and livelihoods. “Despite highly publicised funding announcements, many communities face massive economic hardship.

“There are still challenges rebuilding properties, businesses and industries.

“As we head into another fire season, rates of mental ill-health and trauma are likely to rise. Early identification and intervention are critical to saving lives of people who are struggling mentally or emotionally.

It’s not just bushfires but also drought that rural communities have had to contend with.

“Our mission is to improve the mental wellbeing of rural and remote Aussies, who are at greater risk of suicide.”

He added: “Our programs have been shown to reduce stigma and encourage conversations about mental health.

“It’s a vital step to bridging the mental health gap that exists between major cities and the regions.

Drought has hit NSW communities hard in recent years

“On behalf of Rural & Remote Mental Health and the communities we serve, I wish to thank News Corp for its support. This is a wonderful opportunity to deliver improved mental health outcomes to rural and remote Aussies at an unprecedented scale.”

Headspace youth care coordinator and community engagement officer, Chad White, said there were very real mental health concerns in rural communities.

“What we are facing is a lot of isolation and disconnections and barriers for people in rural areas accessing services, due to their remote location and access to connectivity,” Mr White said.

“As we have seen with covid, we lost a lot of face to face interaction with our clinicians and doctors and have had to learn a new style of communicating and that is through Telehealth, however in rural settings a lot of people still can’t access the internet or computers.

“Mental health has increased during covid, we have found a lot more of the services were accessed and there has been a huge increase in domestic violence matters, drug and alcohol use and increased youth struggles due to that isolation and disconnection.

“In these rural areas, we are already isolated as it is, and being 20kms from your nearest neighbour or 40kms from your nearest town, people struggle and we have seen an increase in suicide rates.”

Headspace's Chad White says the cash injection will be a huge help for people in rural communities struggling with mental health.

Mr White said the donation from Newscorp would be put back into regional communities to train all members in the community in suicide and mental health prevention and give them skills and strategies to assist someone in those times of need.

“People in rural communities will be trained and can learn how to bring someone from a boiling point, that is in a crisis situation, to a situation where they can then use a referral pathway,” he said.

Mr White said the coronavirus pandemic, drought and the bushfires had been the ‘icing on the cake’ for a terrible year and the spike in mental health.

“Suicides have risen because of the loss, the stress and the disconnection rural Australians are feeling, the financial stress of people losing a home, or a business has had a huge impact on the mental health system,” he said.

“It will be a very good use of money, and the rural minds workshops are designed for youth, as well as indigenous people and our rural communities, it is a very great cause for anyone to undertake and to be a part of the change and help their community.

“One of the biggest issues in rural areas is the lack of services, as a lot of smaller towns miss out on these.

“Educating our community is the biggest thing this donation will go towards, supplying these training options into the communities which are free workshops available to anyone who wants to do the training and assist in the ongoing battle of mental health in remote communities.”