Good mental health is all of our responsibility, that is the key message from Farmers’ Union of Wales President Glyn Roberts ahead of World Mental Health day (Monday, 10 October 2022).
The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day, set by the World Federation for Mental Health, is ‘Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority’
Speaking from his farm in North Wales, the Union President said:
“Across Wales, the UK and indeed the world, people are facing tough and challenging times. A lot of these challenges are out of our control as individuals, some of them are not. Whilst we might not be able to stop the war in Ukraine, scrap a myriad of agricultural regulations or directly influence the cost of living crisis and poor state of the economy, there are small things we can do to help us have better mental health.
“Many of you know that the FUW is a long standing supporter of the DPJ Foundation, who are doing a sterling job in providing mental health services to our rural communities across Wales. Mental health, or better say poor mental health, remains as important for us to tackle as it has ever been and we stand by our commitment to keep the spotlight on mental health in rural areas for as long as it remains a problem.”
Mr Roberts highlighted that according to the charity Young Minds, the latest NHS figures highlight that nearly half a million young people are being referred for mental health problems every month, with many not being able to get the support they need.
Responding to the statistics, he said:
“That’s an unacceptable amount of young people not getting the help they need. The statistics don’t get any better if you look at the overall picture and it is down to each and every one of us to see that change.”
According to the Mental Health Foundation, mental health and behavioural problems, such as depression, anxiety and drug use, are the primary drivers of disability worldwide in 20 to 29-year-olds, whilst it is also estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem.
“We couldn’t agree more with leading mental health foundations and charities that mental health must be treated on a par with physical health. We, as individuals and as a society, need to do as much as possible to prevent poor mental health and I’m grateful that we have the support of so many dedicated charities here in Wales, looking after our farming communities through various initiatives such as Share the Load, or calling a farming friend.
“With that in mind, members can rest assured that we will not only continue in our fundraising efforts for our charity the DPJ Foundation, but we will also continue to do all we can to ensure that we have thriving, sustainable family farms in Wales for generations to come by lobbying and scrutinising those who have a direct impact on our lives,” said Glyn Roberts.
Those wanting to make a donation to the FUW President’s charity, The DPJ foundation, can do so here: https://www.fuw.org.uk/en/about-us/giving
