From Awareness to Action: Building Mental-Health Capable Rural Communities through Farmer-Led Peer Support Systems
Tracks
Karrie Webb
| Friday, November 6, 2026 |
| 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM |
Overview
Sue Carswell, Carswell Consultancy
Ken Meldrum, Uniting Care - Farmer to Farmer
Ross Blanch, UnitingCare
Ken Meldrum, Uniting Care - Farmer to Farmer
Ross Blanch, UnitingCare
Three Key Learnings
1.Understand why peer-to-peer relationships are critical in supporting farmers and families experiencing mental health challenges.
2: Learn practical approaches to building rural community capacity that improve mental health awareness, encourage early help-seeking, and strengthen community wellbeing.
3. Gain a clear overview of the Farmer to Farmer program —its design, implementation, and the key practices that lead to positive outcomes for farmers and rural communities.
Presenter
Mr Ross Blanch
Co presenter
UnitingCare
From Awareness to Action: Building Mental-Health Capable Rural Communities through Farmer-Led Peer Support Systems
Presentation Overview
The Farmer-to-Farmer program moves beyond awareness to strengthen action on mental health in rural communities. Embedded within farming regions, Farmer-to-Farmer Support Workers are themselves farmers, enabling trusted peer-based relationships with farmers, agricultural workers, and their families. This lived experience supports timely, culturally grounded responses to the pressures of agricultural life, including isolation, climate variability, and financial uncertainty. The program improves pathways to support, increases early help-seeking, and strengthens community capacity to respond to mental health needs, contributing to more mental health-capable rural and remote farming communities.
The Farmer-to-Farmer program was developed by UnitingCare Queensland and has been operating since 2019. It began with a single Support Worker operating in the Southern Downs region, but through the support of philanthropic grants and Government contracts the service was able to grow and expand. The program now employs 7 Support Workers and has expanded activities to include community education and outreach in addition to individual support.
Due to this rapid growth and expansion of the model, the decision was made in 2026 to independently evaluate the program over a 12 -month period. The evaluation design included process components, to understand the practice framework and program implementation; and outcomes components, to understand the impact of the program for service users and communities. This presentation, jointly delivered by our evaluation partner and two staff members, will cover the initial phase of the evaluation, sharing the results of program logic and theory of change workshops and data collection with staff and external stakeholders. These findings, along with the inclusion of deidentified practice stories, will be used to reflect on the theme of “awareness to action”, exploring how the Farmer-to-Farmer program is able to directly expand mental health capability and outcomes within rural communities.
The Farmer-to-Farmer program was developed by UnitingCare Queensland and has been operating since 2019. It began with a single Support Worker operating in the Southern Downs region, but through the support of philanthropic grants and Government contracts the service was able to grow and expand. The program now employs 7 Support Workers and has expanded activities to include community education and outreach in addition to individual support.
Due to this rapid growth and expansion of the model, the decision was made in 2026 to independently evaluate the program over a 12 -month period. The evaluation design included process components, to understand the practice framework and program implementation; and outcomes components, to understand the impact of the program for service users and communities. This presentation, jointly delivered by our evaluation partner and two staff members, will cover the initial phase of the evaluation, sharing the results of program logic and theory of change workshops and data collection with staff and external stakeholders. These findings, along with the inclusion of deidentified practice stories, will be used to reflect on the theme of “awareness to action”, exploring how the Farmer-to-Farmer program is able to directly expand mental health capability and outcomes within rural communities.
Biography
Dr Sue Carswell
Research & Evaluation Consultant
Carswell Consultancy
From Awareness to Action: Building Mental-Health Capable Rural Communities through Farmer-Led Peer Support Systems
Presentation Overview
The Farmer-to-Farmer program moves beyond awareness to strengthen action on mental health in rural communities. Embedded within farming regions, Farmer-to-Farmer Support Workers are themselves farmers, enabling trusted peer-based relationships with farmers, agricultural workers, and their families. This lived experience supports timely, culturally grounded responses to the pressures of agricultural life, including isolation, climate variability, and financial uncertainty. The program improves pathways to support, increases early help-seeking, and strengthens community capacity to respond to mental health needs, contributing to more mental health-capable rural and remote farming communities.
The Farmer-to-Farmer program was developed by UnitingCare Queensland and has been operating since 2019. It began with a single Support Worker operating in the Southern Downs region, but through the support of philanthropic grants and Government contracts the service was able to grow and expand. The program now employs 7 Support Workers and has expanded activities to include community education and outreach in addition to individual support.
Due to this rapid growth and expansion of the model, the decision was made in 2026 to independently evaluate the program over a 12 -month period. The evaluation design included process components, to understand the practice framework and program implementation; and outcomes components, to understand the impact of the program for service users and communities. This presentation, jointly delivered by our evaluation partner and two staff members, will cover the initial phase of the evaluation, sharing the results of program logic and theory of change workshops and data collection with staff and external stakeholders. These findings, along with the inclusion of deidentified practice stories, will be used to reflect on the theme of “awareness to action”, exploring how the Farmer-to-Farmer program is able to directly expand mental health capability and outcomes within rural communities.
The Farmer-to-Farmer program was developed by UnitingCare Queensland and has been operating since 2019. It began with a single Support Worker operating in the Southern Downs region, but through the support of philanthropic grants and Government contracts the service was able to grow and expand. The program now employs 7 Support Workers and has expanded activities to include community education and outreach in addition to individual support.
Due to this rapid growth and expansion of the model, the decision was made in 2026 to independently evaluate the program over a 12 -month period. The evaluation design included process components, to understand the practice framework and program implementation; and outcomes components, to understand the impact of the program for service users and communities. This presentation, jointly delivered by our evaluation partner and two staff members, will cover the initial phase of the evaluation, sharing the results of program logic and theory of change workshops and data collection with staff and external stakeholders. These findings, along with the inclusion of deidentified practice stories, will be used to reflect on the theme of “awareness to action”, exploring how the Farmer-to-Farmer program is able to directly expand mental health capability and outcomes within rural communities.
Biography
Dr Sue Carswell has more than 25 years’ experience in research and evaluation, working with government agencies and community organisations to improve health and social services. Her work focuses on supporting individuals, families and communities facing complex challenges, including poverty, mental ill health, addictions, and domestic and family violence. She has worked extensively with rural communities in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, with projects spanning access to primary healthcare and social services, psychosocial responses to disasters, and the role of family labour on farms.
Mr Ken Meldrum
Peer Support Worker
Uniting Care - Farmer to Farmer
From Awareness to Action: Building Mental-Health Capable Rural Communities through Farmer-Led Peer Support Systems
Presentation Overview
The Farmer-to-Farmer program moves beyond awareness to strengthen action on mental health in rural communities. Embedded within farming regions, Farmer-to-Farmer Support Workers are themselves farmers, enabling trusted peer-based relationships with farmers, agricultural workers, and their families. This lived experience supports timely, culturally grounded responses to the pressures of agricultural life, including isolation, climate variability, and financial uncertainty. The program improves pathways to support, increases early help-seeking, and strengthens community capacity to respond to mental health needs, contributing to more mental health-capable rural and remote farming communities.
The Farmer-to-Farmer program was developed by UnitingCare Queensland and has been operating since 2019. It began with a single Support Worker operating in the Southern Downs region, but through the support of philanthropic grants and Government contracts the service was able to grow and expand. The program now employs 7 Support Workers and has expanded activities to include community education and outreach in addition to individual support.
Due to this rapid growth and expansion of the model, the decision was made in 2026 to independently evaluate the program over a 12 -month period. The evaluation design included process components, to understand the practice framework and program implementation; and outcomes components, to understand the impact of the program for service users and communities. This presentation, jointly delivered by our evaluation partner and two staff members, will cover the initial phase of the evaluation, sharing the results of program logic and theory of change workshops and data collection with staff and external stakeholders. These findings, along with the inclusion of deidentified practice stories, will be used to reflect on the theme of “awareness to action”, exploring how the Farmer-to-Farmer program is able to directly expand mental health capability and outcomes within rural communities.
The Farmer-to-Farmer program was developed by UnitingCare Queensland and has been operating since 2019. It began with a single Support Worker operating in the Southern Downs region, but through the support of philanthropic grants and Government contracts the service was able to grow and expand. The program now employs 7 Support Workers and has expanded activities to include community education and outreach in addition to individual support.
Due to this rapid growth and expansion of the model, the decision was made in 2026 to independently evaluate the program over a 12 -month period. The evaluation design included process components, to understand the practice framework and program implementation; and outcomes components, to understand the impact of the program for service users and communities. This presentation, jointly delivered by our evaluation partner and two staff members, will cover the initial phase of the evaluation, sharing the results of program logic and theory of change workshops and data collection with staff and external stakeholders. These findings, along with the inclusion of deidentified practice stories, will be used to reflect on the theme of “awareness to action”, exploring how the Farmer-to-Farmer program is able to directly expand mental health capability and outcomes within rural communities.
Biography
Ken has had a career as a Registered nurse for 46 years working across a variety of health settings, from regional services to rural and remote. Ken has had a special interest in Men’s Health and Suicide Prevention throughout his nursing career and following his retirement he accepted positions with Lifeline Community Recovery, StandBy support after suicide as a Crisis Support Officer and currently is working across Qld for Uniting Care’s Farmer to Farmer program.
He is also involved in other projects across Qld and NSW raising awareness of suicide prevention and promoting mental health and wellbeing which include establishing Blue Tractors across rural areas with signs saying “Feeling Blue, Get Help”, supporting Southern Qld Suicide Prevention Networks and being a founding member of the Blue Motorcycle Project which currently has 23 blue bikes and signs across Northern NSW and southern Queensland.
