Almost £3,000 has been raised for a farming mental health charity by delegates at the recent Egg & Poultry Industry Conference (EPIC).
Delegates raised the sum during the industry banquet and awards on 31 October, with the proceeds going to YANA, the rural mental health support hotline. The contribution comes at a time of heightened awareness of mental health in farming, particularly given the huge stresses of the job as producers grapple with the challenges of bird flu, input cost increases, soaring energy bills and tight margins.
YANA – which stands for You Are Not Alone – was launched in 2008 as a project in Norfolk, but has since expanded across East Anglia and was established as a charity in its own right in 2020. It works to improve mental health in rural and agricultural businesses by providing confidential support, counselling, investing in mental health first aid training, promoting a national suicide prevention campaign and raising awareness.
A spokeswoman for YANA thanked the EPIC conference for its contribution. “The generous donations we receive enable YANA to continue to work towards improving the mental health of the agricultural sector and prevent the loss of life through suicide,” she explained. “Funded counselling is often a lifeline for those that are struggling. We know this helps people to feel better able to manage problems and improves areas of life such as work and relationships, as well as their mental health.
“The counselling provision really does save lives and this donation will help YANA to continue to offer professional counselling, which can be put in place within a week for those that live or work in East Anglia.”
The spokeswoman added that YANA’s recent initiatives have included working with local vets to provide awareness-raising material and tips that they can use with their poultry clients during the AI crisis, as well as managing their own stress levels.
“Where possible we try to respond quickly to issues and crises in the sector, and this is just one example of how we have done that most recently,” she added.