Lived Experience and a Rural Suicide Prevention Outreach Model
Tracks
Ballroom 3
| Tuesday, October 16, 2018 |
| 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM |
Speaker
Mr John Clark
Training and Capacity Building Team Leader
Rural Alive & Well Inc.
Lived Experience and a Rural Suicide Prevention Outreach Model
Abstracts
Rural Australians are different to our metropolitan cousins; in outlook, mindset, where and how we deal with problems – even how we talk. The value of lived experience of both rurality and suicidality can inform the practices and culture of mental health and suicide prevention organisations so that service delivery encompasses the voice of lived experience and harnesses the power of peer support workers in a way that includes rural cultural sensitivity. This approach has been demonstrated by organisations such as Rural Alive and Well whose outreach program sees workers in rural areas on a daily basis connecting with Tasmanians to forge therapeutic relationships to support recovery from mental illness and suicidality. The lived experience of those with mental illness and suicidality from a rural culture, has a unique way of gaining trust, building rapport, modelling recovery and engendering hope and is a key component of the National Mental Health Strategy.
Biography
John grew up on a family sheep and cattle farm in Victoria. He moved to Melbourne to complete a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, which led him to work in the Pulp and Paper Industry, and in turn brought about a move to Tasmania. After the demise of the industry in the North West, John switched to the community services sector for eight years. In this role John experienced a serious burnout and after some time in recovery, commenced work with Anglicare as a Family Mental Health Outreach Worker supporting families who were affected by mental illness.
John is a qualified Mental Health First Aid Trainer, a volunteer speaker for beyondblue and Suicide Prevention Australia and is passionate about reducing stigma around mental illness, suicide and encouraging others to get help either for themselves, their families or their mates. John is equally passionate about his three children and wife of 25 years.
If John isn’t out and about talking to mates, you can find him bushwalking Tasmania’s mountains; fly fishing the pristine lakes; hunting and woodworking, cycling or volunteering for the SES Search and Rescue team. Whenever he can, John gets back to Victoria on the family farm because there’s never an end to the work to be done.
Mr Tony Barker
Outreach Team Leader (North)
Rural Alive & Well Inc.
Lived Experience and a Rural Suicide Prevention Outreach Model (CO-PRESENTER)
Abstracts
See John Clark
Biography
Tony has had many roles in agriculture and has valuable knowledge on the industry and its troubles; he was a dairy farmer for twenty-two years, and currently owns a grazing operation in South Riana.
Tony graduated in New Zealand with Diplomas in Agriculture and Farm Management and a 2006 Nuffield Farming Scholar. His experience includes DairyTas Board Chair, Nuffield Australia Tasmania Branch Chair and he is currently Director of Rural Business Tasmania
His personal experience with two dyslexic children and their associated learning difficulties developed his interest in the mind. After developing cancer he had his own personal journey of growth and development and went on to train in Neuro-Linguistic programming, Hypnosis & Timeline TherapyTM.
Tony loves to learn and have new experiences, he understands the difficulties of direction change and thrives on finding solutions. He believes anything is possible, looks for the positive in situations and is grateful for life and its opportunities and possibilities. He loves seeing and helping rural people become empowered and brings his skills to the North West and West Coast communities as a RAW Outreach Worker.
*Program is subject to change
