ALBURY STORE SALE SET TO SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH ORGANISATION

A series of suicides among farming clients and families of two Albury-based stock and station agents have triggered a dedicated store cattle sale to raise awareness and funds for the cause.

Earlier this month Elders joined together with Paull and Scollard Nutrien to hold a dedicated store sale in support of a mental health organisation. Agents from both sides were in support of This Is A Conversation Starter (TIACS), an organisation dedicated to removing the barriers to free mental health support for the blue collar community.

Brett Shea, Livestock Manager for Elders Albury said the pressure on stock and station agents dealing with mental health and suicide is very significant, considering how closely they work with farming clients or colleagues.

"We have many talented young men and women in both of our businesses that deal with the extremes that agriculture throws at us,” said Brett.

“This is our commitment to them, and to our communities in which we work, that we are completely in support of TIACS cause," Mr Shea said.

On the day agents shed their pink and green shirts for loud and colourful TradeMutt shirts, to encourage people to start conversations about mental health.

The store cattle sale was held on Thursday 4 May which featured the donation of a charity beast going directly to TIACS.

Alongside the store sale, the team conducted a charity auction on AuctionsPlus, with many items being donated to the cause.

TIACS is a free text and call service direct to mental health counsellors, available from Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 10.00 pm AEST. Since launching in 2020, the TIACS team have supported over 16,000 tradies, truckies, rural and blue collar workers and those that care about them. TIACS’ ambition is to be ‘the mental health counselling service you tell your mates about’. It has been created to help remove the physical and financial barriers that a lot of rural people face when trying to access professional mental health support.

If you or anyone you know would like to speak to a mental health counsellor free and ongoing, please text or call TIACS now on 0488 846 988.