Mental health support available for northern farmers

The Canadian Mental Health Association, the province and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture have launched a new website featuring a suite of programs designed to help farmers get mental health support when and where they need it.

Farming can be a solitary life and anyone involved in it is expected to play a number of roles on the farm.

“Farmers are expected to be not just farmers but welders mechanics electricians, accountants and that list just goes on and on'" said Marcel Forget, of Rubber Boot Farm

"The financial stress behind agriculture is massive and that can really (take) a toll on somebody."

The new website enables farmers to access help for their mental health. It's called Agriculture Wellness Ontario and it's been years in the making.

Partners include the province, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA).

"It’s OK to say that agriculture is a great life, but some days there are hard days and sometimes those hard days just add up and we don’t know the way through anymore," said Peggy Brekveld of the OFA.

Through the website, people can get information about where to seek services and counselling for their mental health.

“And then we have what’s called the Guardian Network and this one is really quite unique," said Camille Quenneville of the CMHA.

"It takes individuals who are in communities supporting farmers and it gives them the skills to be able to recognize when farmers are struggling and potentially contemplating suicide.”

Forget, a Timmins farmer, said the job can get stressful at times and because he's self-employed, he has no access to benefits.

He's hopeful the new website will help him and many others.

“Whether it be climate pressure or financial pressure or equipment failure, there’s a lot going on there," he said.

"We tend to be the type of people that say, 'Ah, I’m fine. I’ll take care of it on my own.' Mental health might not be … we might not be well-suited individuals to take care of that on our own.”

All the services are free to access through the Agriculture Wellness Ontario website.