Jack and Betty Kenna know first hand that there is nothing more painful than watching a child suffer from mental illness. Their 23-year-old daughter Brigid is currently in hospital.
“It’s such a silent thing — you can’t see mental illness,” Mr Kenna said.
The 58-year-old former dairy farmer knows better than most what it is like to be in that dark place. He was there in October 1989.
“I was 30 years old, I didn’t have a girlfriend and it hit me like a tonne of bricks,” he said.
Mr Kenna spent 10 days at a facility in Warrnambool after a breakdown, but came back with the help of family, especially his father who ensured his friends visited him.
A few years later he met and married Betty and she was there for a second episode, prompted by the death of his father in 1999.
He spent 14 days in another Warrnambool mental hospital.
“The kids were devastated of course — I’d take them into visit and that was hard. We’d drive away [and they’d say] ‘want dad, want dad’,” Ms Kenna said.
“Anyway, dad came back … it ended up good, because his attitude was good. He wanted to get well.”
The Kennas are hoping Brigid will be home soon.
“It would be a great Christmas present,” Mr Kenna said.
Physical illness often ‘more acceptable’
Mr Kenna is among a brave group of farmers across Australia who are sharing their stories as part of The Ripple Effect, a research and awareness program looking at suicide in rural communities.
2016-12-11: ABC TV news looks at Farmer Suicide in Australia
Published on Dec 11, 2016
Meet four Victorians who are doing what they can to beat farmer suicide. It’s estimated that farmers commit suicide at twice the rate of other Australians and the National Centre for Farmer Health wants to know why. It’s urging farmers to take part in The Ripple Effect, an online survey that aims to find out about experiences of suicide and destigmatise it.
2016-12-1: The Ripple Effect of farmer suicide – The Wire
The Ripple Effect is a website launched earlier this year that asks people affected by suicide in rural communities to share their stories.
The website aims to break down the stigma that exists in rural community and use the insights to create more appropriate responses.
The social isolation of life on the farm is a key factor in the high rates of suicide in rural and farming communities.
If this story raises any concerns for you contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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Research protocol for a digital intervention to reduce stigma among males with a personal experience of suicide in the Australian farming community
Background: Australian farming communities have up to twice the suicide rate of the general population. Men, particularly, demonstrate debilitating self- and perceived-stigma associated with an experience of suicide. The Ripple Effect is aimed to reduce suicide stigma within the social, cultural, geographical and psychological contexts in which it occurs.
Methods: A mixed-method design with multi-level evaluation will be effected following the development and delivery of a personalised website experience (combining shared stories, education, personal goal setting and links to resources) to farming men, aged 30-64 years, with an experience of suicide. Pre- and post-surveys will be used to assess changes in self- and perceived-stigma and suicide literacy. Online feedback from participants and semi-structured interviews during follow-up will be thematically analysed.
Discussion: This project will provide information about increasingly accessible, innovative approaches to reducing the debilitating health and wellbeing effects of suicide stigma on a population of Australia’s farmers.
People from farming communities affected by suicide are being asked to complete an in-depth survey to help researchers better understand the impact suicide has on families left behind.
A website called The Ripple Effect, which was launched less than six months ago, aims to reduce the stigma surrounding suicide in farming communities.
More than 7,000 people have already visited the site, which specifically targets men from farming communities — a group that typically offers a hand to others, but will not ask for help in return.
Researcher Alison Kennedy said statistics on farmer suicide were hard to come by due to the lack of research.
2016-11-1: Project having a ripple effect on rural suicides – Western District Farmer
2016-10-10: Rural medicine scholarships up for grabs – Farming Ahead
AUSTRALIA’S only post-graduate agricultural health and medicine course for professionals servicing farming communities is now open for scholarship opportunities, with applications closing October 31.
Entering its eighth year the scholarship program aims to create the next generation of agricultural and health leaders who understand cross-sector collaboration and can make a difference in rural communities. This year one scholarship is also earmarked for a person currently engaged in agriculture and/or a member of a farming family.
Hosted in Hamilton western Victoria from 27 February 2017, Deakin University’s intensive five day Agricultural Health and Medicine unit HMF701 is offered through the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH).
The course covers a broad range of agricultural health, safety and wellbeing issues ranging from mental illness and addiction through to emergency medicine, agrichemicals and agricultural trauma. The HMF701 unit has also been accredited for professional development points in areas of medicine, veterinary science, social work and nursing.
View full article: 2016-10-10: Rural medicine scholarships up for grabs – Farming Ahead
2016-10-11: Making a difference to farmers’ lives – The Star
2016-9-15: Tasmania Country Hour
Click here to listen to Tasmania Country Hour featuring Susan Brumby from National Centre for Farmer Health sharing results from Agfest Field Days in Tasmania.
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