It can be tough to know what to do when someone you love is facing mental health challenges. How to recognise it, how to respond to it, when to ask for help. When someone faces these challenges, it's often the family, friends and colleagues who become the crucial 'first responders’, but they do not have the tools or resources they need.
We believe mental health education should be treated like physical health education.
The Walker Family lost their sister and daughter, Jessica to suicide and know all too well the devastating impact that mental health challenges can have on individuals and their families.
Twenty years on, current statistics reveal that mental health challenges are likely to affect every individual in Australia, either directly or indirectly at some point in their life.
When someone faces these challenges, it’s often the immediate support network, comprising of family, friends, colleagues and their community who become the crucial ‘first responders.’ The ability to discuss mental health openly, backed by confidence and knowledge, is a vital skill for everyone in the community – even more so in rural and regional areas where these resources are not readily available.
Hand to the Land is an initiative of Jessica’s sister, Victoria and her childhood friend Jen to raise funds on behalf of the Country Education Foundation - which both of their families have been involved in for many years. The aim of the initiative is to educate people through the Mental Health First Aid Australia online course and a number of tertiary mental health scholarships.
Our goal is to improve the mental health literacy of rural and regional Australians.
