Out in the bush, WA men can help each other. There’s just one problem

A few weeks back, a group of 30-odd blokes in Kalgoorlie celebrated the 100th trip on the Men’s Bush Trip program. As its founder I was proud.

But behind my smiles and good humour, there was frustration.

Stephen Morrison has vowed to keep making the trips happen, however many doors he must knock on.

The Men’s Bush Trips began in 2021 as part of a suite of programs provided by Mara Pirni Healing Place, WA’s first regional family and domestic violence and abuse hub.

This Kalgoorlie hub was co-designed with the community, who insisted on men’s services alongside services for women and children.

So, four years ago I began taking men out on country to connect in a judgement-free space and yarn about the hard stuff – grief, loss, alcohol use, mental health, suicide and yes, family violence.

This affects our communities deeply. It brings fear to our families and robs them of opportunities. None of us want that.

On Men’s Bush Trips we talk about how we can do the opposite, about choices and actions we can take to bring peace to troubled situations.

I must stress not everyone on the trips is violent or abusive, but everyone is committed to showing up and talking about how they can do better for themselves, their partners and families.

The first trip ran out of Kalgoorlie, but we have expanded to include trips out of Leonora, Laverton, Esperance and Norseman.

By the 100th trip there had been more than 600 attendees.

And yet for every trip, we rely on donations from Goldfields businesses.

You can’t yarn on an empty stomach, so we provide a feed for the men, relying on a donated $100 supermarket voucher. Somehow we feed 15 men off that.

We are having an impact. The men who attend tell me they are drinking less, and they share with me the times they have walked away from a heated situation. These trips are actually making the community safer.

The Mara Pirni funding covered staff, but there were no extra dollars for men’s activities or for hiring a meeting space in town.

My position with Hope Community Services is funded, and I’m supported by another part-timer – but that’s all the funding there is.

Spare dollars are scarce in not-for-profits. We pull dollars here and there from different budgets, but these are often used up just covering petrol costs.

When we say out bush we mean it – we have travelled roughly 24,600 kilometres on these trips.

We didn’t set out to clock up kilometres, we just saw a unique and important opportunity to walk alongside men in our community.

I have been invited to speak about the Men’s Bush Trips at conferences, and the program has won an award. But last year when one local business said they could no longer assist, I had to go cap in hand to another.

In June’s state budget, the government committed $33 million to tackle family violence, mostly to response programs and services such as Safe At Home, which provides in-home support and safety planning for victim-survivors.

Last year the government committed $7 million to funding regional Men’s Behaviour Change programs.

All these are critical investments, but men’s healing programs are yet to capture the imagination of decisionmakers.

So often service organisations can’t support men until they are in dire straits.

Until they are on the verge of suicide.

Until their alcohol use becomes an addiction.

Until they choose violence.

Until they are incarcerated.

Men’s Bush Trips were set up to prevent men from reaching those terrible end points, and we are having an impact. The men who attend tell me they are drinking less, and they share with me the times they have walked away from a heated situation.

These trips are actually making the community safer.

We’re also building local connections. Other service organisations regularly send a representative on the trips to yarn with the men. So when a bloke decides to get help, he knows where to go and that he’ll find a friendly face.

Even better, in Kalgoorlie, the men who attend regularly have formed their own support network. They know they can call each other at 2am if they need to, and they know that if they get that call, they pick up.

Some of them have even undertaken mental health first aid training, so they know how to recognise and respond to a mental health emergency. It’s hard to put a dollar value on that.

I know that we have made, and will continue to make, a huge difference. We will keep making the Men’s Bush Trips happen, however many doors we must knock on.

What frustrates me is thinking of how much more of a difference we could make if we were funded properly.

How many suicides might we prevent? How many violent incidents?

Men’s healing programs have the potential to prevent so much and save government dollars elsewhere.

Right now, to men in the Goldfields, they are nothing short of invaluable.

Stephen Morrison is Hope Community Services’ Aboriginal Cultural Practice and capability manager.