“Drought is so much more than just a lack of rain. It’s the isolation, anxiety and the stress that we could lose everything. Altogether, it becomes unbearable”.

Kerry is living with the unending despair of drought, every day.

The dry, cracked ground and lack of water are only the start of the problems Kerry and farmers like her face.

“I wake up every morning so tense. The grass stopped growing, so we have to buy feed, or our beloved stock will starve. Wild dogs are attacking our lambs, and there’s the added stress of broken down farm equipment. Sometimes the worry and the isolation become too much. We could lose everything.”

The drought is pushing farming families like Kerry’s to breaking point.

Simply having someone from the Flying Doctor team to talk to when the relentless stress of life during drought becomes overwhelming is critical.

Your gift can’t help end the drought. But it will help a farmer get urgent mental health support.

When our mental health team call or visit, they offer completely confidential one-to-one support, offering positive coping strategies and a listening ear.

This support helps to break that thought cycle and remind farmers like Kerry how to move forward.

In remote Australia, it’s easy for farming families to feel isolated and alone.

Their closest neighbours can be hours away. Access to services that families living in metropolitan areas take for granted can almost feel impossible.

This year, one in every five people living in rural Australian communities will be suffering from a mental health disorder. Early intervention and prompt diagnosis can have significant and life-changing consequences for a person’s mental health.

Your gift today can give a farmer suffering from stress, hopelessness and anxiety the expert mental health care they need.