Frontenac Farmer Mental Wellness
Frontenac Federation of Agriculture is establishing a Farmer Wellness Program in the county for their Frontenac Federation of Agriculture members. This would complement the existing Farmer Wellness Program in Eastern Ontario. This Program is an accessible mental health service for the agricultural community intended to address agricultural producers’ unique needs and eliminate barriers to seeking or obtaining help by tailoring service provision. This program is especially important now with all the challenges due to COVID-19.
The program achieves this by providing services at times that accommodate the farming schedule, in a variety of modalities (e.g. office or in-home appointments, via telephone or video chat) which enhances comfort and confidentiality. This service will be provided by a skilled and experienced clinician who, as a farmer, is also uniquely qualified to understand the pressures and conditions inherent to the agricultural industry.
Participants (farmers) will have access to up to 4 free counselling sessions. Frontenac Federation of Agriculture has 366 members and is budgeting for approximately 5% of its membership for this program which would be just above 18 members for at least 1 year of the program.
More information on this program is available on the farmer wellness program currently available: www.farmerwellnessprogram.ca