WINNIPEG – A grant from the Manitoba government has brought promoters of a stress line for the province’s farmers $40,000 closer to their goal.
Greg Arason, chair of the committee formed to establish the line, said in a release the project now has raised 70 percent of the funds required.
Farm organizations and the Manitoba division of the Canadian Mental Health Association have been working for more than a year to establish a toll-free line that farmers in distress can call for help.
Manitoba health minister Jim McCrae said the line will complement community mental health services in the province: “We are very pleased to be one of the partners in initiating this service.”
The province originally had refused to support the project, saying stress assistance was
already available. Although still short of the $138,000 required to operate the line,
organizers hope to have it running by Dec. 1.
Arason said fund-raising efforts, which have included a farm input lottery, donations from agri-business and a training grant from the federal government, are continuing.
