A total of 21 local marts are holding auctions as part of weekly sales in September to raise money for the Life Beyond programme, run by the farm support charity for NI, Rural Support.

The events are taking place between Monday 23 and Saturday 28 September, with donations sought from individuals or local businesses of any items, services or livestock that could be put up for auction.

According to Rural Support Director of Operations, Gyles Dawson, the inspiration for the initiative was a charity auction run last winter by Plumbridge Mart, which raised £14,000 for Rural Support. It included everything from grocery hampers, to vouchers from local agri merchants and services offered by farm contractors.

“We are very appreciative to the marts for taking this on and grateful for every item we receive. It just needs to be something of interest and use for farmers to bid on,” Gyles told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Background

The Life Beyond programme was launched in August 2021 by Rural Support, in partnership with Embrace Farm in the Republic of Ireland. It provides free support to farm families across NI who have experienced an expected or sudden loss, or are facing a terminal diagnosis.

Since its launch, the programme has helped 78 farm families and within that, there could be three or four individuals within each family who have received specific counselling or business mentoring support.

As awareness has grown about Life Beyond, so too has the number of people looking to avail of the service.

“The demand is unprecedented at the minute,” said Gyles, who explained that referrals come from individuals, friends or family, or from people who might interact with the farm business.

“All we need is the individual’s permission before we can visit. I’ll go out and assess the situation, understand what has happened and ascertain who needs the help,” he said.

Gyles Dawson, director of operations at Rural Support.

Two formats

That help can come in two different formats. Some people need counselling, bereavement and trauma support, while in other cases there is also a need for business mentoring.

Where counselling is necessary, it is provided by professional mental health counsellors with a background in agriculture, who specialise in the likes of trauma, bereavement, child counselling, anxiety, stress, etc. All interactions with individuals and families are bound by a confidentiality agreement.

“Normally I can have a counsellor sitting in front of someone within two to three weeks and we can provide help to anyone in the family who needs it – wives, husbands, partners, siblings or children.

“That support goes on as long as required. People ask how many sessions can I have – it is as many as required to ensure the client is supported in their time of need. We are there for people in the aftermath of a traumatic event,” said Gyles.

The support model Rural Support use is unique, in that it is offered directly to family members in their own home and environment – there is no need to travel to a counselling centre. But while it is a very effective model, it is also an expensive one, hence the need for funding.

“We are totally reliant on donations and we need funding coming in to keep the programme going. We know it is having a positive impact in people’s lives” said Gyles.

Information on donating to Rural Support is available on its website (www.ruralsupport.org.uk). The free Rural Support helpline is number is 0800-1381678.