Alexa Harrison is a third year Honour's Social Work student at McMaster University. She spent her summer with the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health as a lead on S.H.E.D Talks and farm safety.
Harrison explained S.H.E.D. is the acronym for Sustaining Healthy Farms Through Empowerment and Dedication.
“What it aims to do is just reduce the social isolation that farmers face," said Harrison. "We know that farmers spend long hours alone in tractors, combines on their farm. So this program is just a way to encourage farmers to get together and fight back the social isolation.”
Harrison said they don't necessarily have to talk about mental health issues, but just getting together with other farmers helps to address what comes with social isolation.
“We try not to specifically talk about mental health because we know that that can be a deterrent from coming out to these S.H.E.D Talks, but we know that farmers want to gather, they like talking about farming with other farmers," she said. "So, getting them together in a way that can support them is our main goal.”
The problem is far more common than it was thought to be at one time. She believes most farmers deal with social isolation at some time.
More information about S.H.E.D. Talks can be found on the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health website.
