Uranquinty Country Women’s Association are breaking out the scones and inviting communities near and far for a conversation on mental health in regional and remote Australia. Photo: CWA.
No-one supports people on the land better than the Country Women’s Association (CWA) and when they combine that with another of their specialities, freshly baked scones, it’s hard to refuse.
This Friday night, 18 February, members of the Uranquinty CWA invite the community, near and far, to discuss an issue that touches many people in regional and remote Australia; mental health.
It’s a special event organised in this, the NSW CWA’s centenary year.
Sconversation, a question-and-answer type forum on mental health, will feature an expert panel including the NSW Minister for Women, Regional Health and Mental Health Bronnie Taylor, Member for Wagga Dr Joe McGirr, NSW CWA chief executive officer Danica Leys, Rural Outreach Counselling board member David Post, Visual Dreaming chief executive officer Leanne Sanders and ACON community health project officer Jenivy Sewak.
CWA spokesperson Rachel Whiting said people from the Wagga region were encouraged to attend the event on Friday night at Charles Sturt University while others from regional Australia were welcome to follow it online via livestream.
“The CWA is a massive advocate for regional Australia,” she said.
“It’s a lot more than just tea and scones. Politicians do listen to us.
“The past three years for people on the land have been some of the hardest on record. It’s been a time of tremendous stress for many people what with the drought, the mouse plague, bushfires, then the floods and COVID. Then there are the stresses facing young people being home-schooled – and the parents who have to manage their working lives as well as the home-schooling.”
Through Sconversation, Rachel said the CWA hopes to raise awareness of the problem of mental illness and to “get people talking”.
“No-one expects us all to be mental health experts, but there are small things we can do to help people in need,” she said.
“It’s a matter of knowing what it is available for people to access in their communities.”
Sconversation will run from 5 to 8 pm on Friday 18 February at the Riverina Playhouse, Charles Sturt University, 8 Cross Street, Wagga Wagga. Tickets are $25 each with all proceeds going to Rural Outlook Counselling and the Wagga Women’s Health Centre.
Refreshments, including CWA tea and scones, will be available for guests.
Charles Sturt University requires that all visitors aged over 16 years are fully vaccinated and can show proof of the vaccination on entry.
For those who can’t attend, the event will be live streamed here.
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