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Listen
Preventing Suicide and Deliberate Self Harm
Laying the Foundations: Identifying Practice Examples
Project Report
17. Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution
Target Group
RSABI provides financial help to people who are, or have been, in a rural occupation (farming, aquaculture, forestry, horticulture and estate work).
Issues
The recent Foot and Mouth crisis has caused a lot of depression and other mental health problems amongst farmers, and existing mental health problems have also been aggravated by the crisis. Initially, help needed by farmers was around crisis management and financial aid. Latterly, the need for help has been around the impact on mental health.
Farmers have found that being confined to their farm for three or four months has left them struggling to find the confidence to go out. People are finding it difficult living with images of slaughtered animals, and are also finding it hard to concentrate, and experiencing a loss in self-confidence. Farmers are also finding it difficult financially - struggling to re-stock to the same level.
People sometimes need to talk through issues such as marital problems - for example, it will take a farmer several years to re-stock after Foot and Mouth, with no immediate income. Situations have been highlighted where a couple find it difficult to adjust to these reduced circumstances and a case is known where a couple have separated because of it.
Farming is more isolating now than previously. Many farmers employ few farm workers these days, and farmers' wives are often out at their own work. Also, due to Foot and Mouth there have been no shows or marts - places where farmers usually meet each other. The farming community can also be quite insular - it is not easy to come forward for help - people often find a great deal of difficulty in sharing problems. Many would feel very uncomfortable if they thought their neighbours knew they were having difficulties.
Changes in banking practice have also led to difficulties. A lot of the infrastructure that used to help people, such as local branches have disappeared. Many people who work in banks these days have little knowledge about farming and the financial issues that affect farmers.
Services/approach
RSABI employs Welfare Secretaries who co-ordinate the help given to beneficiaries. The organisation uses a country-wide network of Honorary Local Secretaries and local activists to help identify those who may be in need.
Assistance takes the form of crisis grants, annual payments, help in kind (for example, the payment of TV and Road Fund licence fees), advice and friendship.
The RSABI also set up a 24 Hour Careline in March 2001 in response to the Foot and Mouth crisis. The line was staffed by a number of volunteers who worked overnight and at weekends and holidays. The aim was to stop the service in March 2002. The idea was that if someone was struggling, they could phone the Careline and talk to someone with experience of farming and rural living. The volunteer spent time listening to them. When people finally call RSABI, they are often at rock bottom.
The phone-line helped people cope with very complicated situations - people who are living on their savings who wish they had phoned to get benefits advice 6 months previously. Difficulties are also caused by the large amounts of paperwork which are routinely required of them. People often complete subsidy forms wrongly, or don't fill in the right forms. The effects of such mistakes can often lead to mental ill health such as depression.
There is a danger in talking about suicide amongst farmers - talking it up. If a person is depressed it is good not to talk about suicide too much. It is not very helpful for farmers to be categorised as committing suicide. Also, it is always thought that suicides amongst farmers are undertaken with the use of guns - however most people tend to hang themselves or take overdoses.
The farming community don't traditionally access benefits agencies, so often don't know about benefits such as the Working Families Tax Credit. RSABI can give them advice about this kind of thing, and how to access benefit agencies.
Key features
For further information, contact:
Ian Purves-Hume, Director
Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution
Ingliston
Edinburgh, EH28 8NB
Tel 0131 333 1023
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