Road to mental health: Grader drives home message for men

Road maintenance workers in the Shire of Sandstone have begun displaying an important message about men’s wellbeing in partnership with the Regional Men’s Health Initiative. When a new grader was ordered to boost the Shire’s road maintenance fleet, works supervisor Dave Holland saw an opportunity to use the vehicle to highlight the importance of men’s health. Equipment dealer WesTrac stepped in to organise signwriting and had the Regional Men’s Health Initiative’s slogan and helpline phone number added to the side of the grader. The slogan reads: “Before it all gets too much, talk to a mate”. Mr Holland said because Sandstone was such a remote location, it could often get quite lonely. “That’s particularly the case in this time of social distancing so we wanted to encourage these men to talk to each other, and we see this message on the grader as the seed to get them started,” he said. The Regional Men’s Health Initiative is a team of people who are passionate about raising awareness of men’s health and wellbeing in regional, rural and remote communities throughout WA. Regional Men’s Health community educator Terry Melrose said every man should have a plan in place outlining who to talk to if they are feeling isolated, lonely or stressed. “Looking out for our staff, colleagues and mates is one aspect of primary care, which we describe as ordinary people looking after each other,” he said.