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“I’m Here for You”: Program Helps Farmers with Mental Health Issues

“I’m Here for You”: Program Helps Farmers with Mental Health Issues

Farming involves long days and hard, volatile work, which is often accomplished alone.

“I was a pork producer and the pork industry was incredibly volatile (in terms of) prices,” said Gerry Friesen, executive director of the Manitoba Farmer Welfare Program (MFWP).

“And so, we were experiencing significant difficulties that I believe – combined with the work that I was doing – sort of pushed me towards the abyss, where I realized, and my doctor concluded, that I needed to do something something to try and get better.

Friesen was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2004.

At the time, not many people knew because he didn’t feel comfortable sharing.

“I grew up in a world where if you had these problems, it meant you weren’t working hard enough or your faith wasn’t strong enough. So what I was doing was trying to get by,” Friesen said.

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The turning point in his life was a neighbor who came to say hello.

“For some strange reason, that day I started opening up and talking to a neighbor, which was really strange in retrospect. I’m not sure what came over me, but I did it.

“He sat there for an hour and listened to me. He gave me this attentive ear. He didn’t judge me. He didn’t give me any answers. What he did was he listened. It normalized and validated what I was experiencing. And actually, that experience encouraged me enough to go out and get some more help,” he said.

Through his experience, Friesen helped create the MFWP, which provides free advice to Manitoba growers, their immediate families and their employees.


Mental health support available to Manitoba farmers


This program has now acquired charitable status, opening up more funding opportunities for the organization.

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“It’s kind of a natural evolution for a nonprofit like ours,” Friesen said. “There are foundations that fund organizations like ours, but there is still a need for us to be a charitable organization. So that now qualifies us for that.

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“But it also encourages donations from individuals because we are all looking for that tax receipt at the end of the year and we are now able to provide it,” he said.

The possibility of additional funding could help the MFWP grow, which would be helpful given that more people are using it than when it launched in 2022.


“Our numbers doubled in the second year compared to the first year. And now, in the third year, we are already at 150 percent of what we were last year, and the year is not over yet,” Friesen said. For privacy reasons, he did not share the exact figures.

Friesen adds that increasing the number of users is a double-edged sword.

“I always say it’s good news because people are using the program, but that’s tempered by the fact that it’s bad news (because) they need it. RIGHT. But at least it’s there,” he said.

Data cited by the MFWP shows that 58 percent of farmers meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder and 35 percent for depression. When the study was published, 40 percent of farmers did not want to seek help due to stigma.

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Roberta Galbraith, vice president of the MFWP board and a Westman producer, said the program is here to change that.

“Everyone feels so much better afterwards. Just talking about a challenge you might face just takes the weight off… It’s a simple gesture, but it’s so powerful,” she said, adding that she has seen a culture change around mental health over the years.

“It’s a continuum. I think we still have a lot of work to do. But I think more and more people are talking about anxiety (and) depression,” she said. “I would like to think we are changing consciousness.”

Galbraith said farmers can sign up for an appointment online quickly and confidentially and will likely hear back from the advisor of their choice in less than two days.

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“We didn’t want people to have to call and say, ‘You can’t get in for six or nine months.’ We don’t have time. So we thought, ‘Let’s fix this gap,’” she said.

It’s an option Friesen wishes he had all those years ago and encourages those who are hesitant to try it.

There are three things he wants those who are struggling to know.

“First, you are not alone. Second, it’s perfectly okay to ask for help. And third, there is hope and relief,” he said, issuing a challenge to farming communities at large.

“I can guarantee you, you have a neighbor, you have a friend, you have a family member who is struggling with this. And here is a challenge for you, it is to ensure this listening… without judgment, confidential (ear).

“Just say, ‘I’m here for you.'”


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