Artist, advocate and ag worker

South Australia’s Rosa Hillam has spent her life fighting for issues that she cares about, with her involvement with the Black Dog Ride her latest undertaking.

An artist, advocate and ag worker, South Australia’s Rosa Hillam has spent her life fighting for issues that she cares about.

For Rosa, who lives at Meningie near the Coorong, one of these currently is her involvement with the Black Dog Ride, an initiative aimed at raising awareness for depression and suicide prevention as well as vital funds for mental health support.

“It (gives me) the capacity to go out to community events and talk to people, to let people know that it’s normal to not feel okay and it’s normal to have bad days. It’s not something that people should be ashamed of,” she said.

“We’re not there to fix people, but to support people and help them to be able to get (professional help) or to whoever it is that they need to connect with.”

Rosa Hillam at Meningie is heavily involved with the Black Dog Ride. Picture: Supplied

Rosa has been heavily involved in advocacy across many different avenues of life since the age of 14, when she began working with children with cerebral palsy and physical and mental difficulties at Bloomfield Hospital in Orange.

“I can see all the kids’ faces. I know every one of their names, and I’m nearly 58. We worked really hard to spend time with them … That was when I found my voice and started becoming an activist,” she said.

Since then Rosa has spent years fighting for the Murray Darling Basin, has run for federal parliament twice, spent time teaching community art and spent 17 years working in the dairy industry, before a serious back injury caused her to retire.

Now, alongside her involvement in various community initiatives, she “absolutely loves” working at the Migrant Resource Centre in Murray Bridge.

“When migrants are coming over for work or as a refugee, it takes a toll on their mental health because they’re separated from their family and friends, separated with language barriers. So it falls into what I’m passionate about, and that’s just helping people to live and have a happy life.”

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