The Do More Agriculture Foundation is taking the next step to provide mental health resources in rural areas.

Trained mental health first aid facilitators will deliver the program, but each application will require a local contact.

“Someone in the community has to be the lead organizer,” says Kim Keller, a Gronlid area farmer and co-founder of the Do More Agriculture Foundation. “That person will work with the facilitator.”

During the two-day course, participants will learn how to provide aid to a person having a panic attack, support someone who lives with depression and anxiety, and intervene when signs of suicidal ideation are present.

“Mental health first aid is just like physical first aid,” says Keller. “The course will teach people how to respond until they are able to get that person to a local emergency room or help comes to them.”

Farm Credit Canada is a major sponsor of the Community Fund for Mental Health First Aid. The Do More Agriculture Foundation was launched in January to champion the mental wellbeing of all agricultural producers, destigmatize mental illness and educate the ag industry about mental health as well as provide resources to those affected.

More information is available at www.domore.ag