A MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATION STARTER
BY IAN DOIG • PHOTO COURTESY OF DO MORE AG
Resources to address mental health issues may be limited in rural areas, but the desire to help friends and neighbours is strong. With support from FCC, Do More Agriculture offers the 2026 Community Fund for Mental Health. Available to rural communities across Canada, the annual funding program supports the presentation of the Talk Ask Listen mental health support training workshop. Applications can be submitted until April 30.
GrainsWest spoke with Do More Ag executive director Merle Massie about this funding opportunity and the workshop.
GrainsWest: This is the eighth year the Community Fund for Mental Health has been offered to assist groups that would like to present Talk Ask Listen in their communities. Does this indicate there is high demand for farm mental health programming?
Merle Massie: Absolutely. It has grown year over year. At first it was such a new thing. Why would a rural community need a workshop about mental health? And yet, the demand has grown steadily.
A lot of communities have applied multiple times, which is nice to see. And yet, last year, more than half of our applicants were first time applicants.
We’re gently putting a little bit more pressure on communities to get people to attend. They know their community best and know how to get people in the door. We want to see between 25 and 30 people at each workshop.
GW: Who should consider applying for the Community Fund for Mental Health to help them present Talk Ask Listen?
MM: We’re looking for trusted, well-connected community champions to say, “I think this will help our community move forward and make change around mental health.” We aim to have more people be comfortable and confident talking about mental health and then reaching out for help when they need it. People are stopping themselves from reaching out for help because they’re afraid of what their neighbours and friends will say.
Any nonprofit group such as ag societies, the Royal Canadian Legion, Kinsmen, sports groups such as a senior-men’s hockey team and faith-based groups. Organizations that tend to have a core group of people they can reach out to.
GW: In a nutshell, what does the workshop offer to participants?
MM: They can expect to walk out of the session with increased courage and confidence to talk about mental health. It’s not therapy. It’s for regular people who want to talk about mental health but don’t know how.
It will help people increase their courage and confidence, so they’ll walk out of there with a lot more willingness to talk about their own mental health and to reach out if they think that a friend or neighbour is struggling.
GW: Has awareness and willingness to address mental health issues increased across Canadian farm country since Do More Ag first launched this programming?
MM: Absolutely. A lot of work has been done by a lot of groups in this area. What I will say, though, is that there is a difference between awareness and action. Awareness tends to sit at the individual level, and action sits at the community level, and that’s where we’re aiming.
GW: What would you say to people who are deciding whether to submit an application?
MM: Your application doesn’t need to be perfect. We will work with you to get it where you need it.
For more information or to apply for the 2026 Community Fund for Mental Health, visit domore.ag/community-fund.
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